Infamy
by magma-krystal
Summary: This tale chronicling the life of Team Magma's leader, Maxie Matsubusa, begins as he leaves home for college, where he finds a best friend in roommate Archie Aogiri. As time passes, Maxie falls in love, experiences unendurable tragedy, and watches himself grow older as a selfish war rages on, threatening to transform his very self.
1. Chapter 1: Sunrise Among the Pines

**Author's Note: I'm really excited to share the first chapter of this project! For a very long time, I've had bits of this story going through my head, and finally decided to write it down. I have always been of the opinion that evil characters are actually quite misunderstood, and I like to wonder about their pasts and their real motivations for the terrible things they do. Maxie has been my favorite fictional character since Pokemon Emerald came out, which is strange, as you really don't know very much about him. You see bits and pieces of who he is in the Pokemon Special manga and the *coughhilariouslyTERRIBLEcough* anime episodes he's in, but even from just playing the games, I felt connected to him for some reason. So this is going to be very long, as a warning. But I feel like a owe it to Maxie as a character to give him a bit more life. **

**Please enjoy. :)**

**Chapter One: Sunrise Among the Pines**

"MAXIE!"

Silence.

"MAXIE! Sweetie!"

More silence. Jenna Matsubusa sighed, running her fingers through her messy puff of bubblegum hair. She slipped on her sandals and walked out the front door, making her way up the dirt path to the caves which overlooked the house. It was a sunny afternoon in Cianwood City, but the air was humid and left an unpleasant stickiness on her skin as she walked. She leaned against the wall of rock which lined the path, took a deep breath, and tried again.

"MAXWELL!"

A scarlet-haired head poked out of the cave.

"Yes, mum? What is it?"

Jenna wiped the growing sweat from her brow. "Honey, do you know where you need to be in an hour?"

"At the Seeing, so an old hag who can't even remember what she ate for breakfast this morning can tell me my future."

"Correct. And you're going to be late if you don't get yourself down here this instant!"

Her son stared at her for a moment, then disappeared back into the cave. "I'll be down in a minute!" he called, his voice fading.

She chuckled, and returned to the house, sitting down at the kitchen table. She heard a knock, and answering the door found Rhonda, her gossip of a neighbor.

"Afternoon, Jenna." Rhonda honked, letting herself in to the house. "I've heard that your Maxie is leaving for college tomorrow." Jenna offered Rhonda a seat, which she took without hesitation. "Well, I've come to congratulate you, Jenna. I thought he'd never leave."

Jenna smirked, looking at the older woman. "Maxwell is a smart boy, Rhonda. He graduated at the top of his class this year. It was never a surprise to me that he got into one of the best colleges in the world."

"Oh, yes, I know. Rustboro University. A lovely school, I'm sure. But what I really mean is…" She grinned. "Well, Maxie isn't exactly is normal boy, is he? He may have brains and all, but he is a bit on the weird side, shall we say."

"Rhonda, my boy is shy, that's all. Just because he has never wanted to befriend any of the other children in Cianwood isn't enough evidence to prove that he's "weird"."

Rhonda tittered. "I know that he's your son, Jenna, but you should face the facts: he's not one of us. He never has been. Just think back to when he was ten and allowed to pick his first pokemon. All the children of Cianwood have always picked a Water-type. We ARE the biggest exporters of exotic seafood in Johto, after all! But no, he chose to train a Zubat."

Jenna rolled her eyes and stood up to make tea for her unwanted guest. "Maxie didn't want to be like everyone else. Being unique isn't a sin, Rhonda."

"And he's always up in those caves, Jenna. It should be his duty as a citizen to help with the fishing with the other young men, or at least help you out in the herbal medicine shop."

Jenna was about to reply that Rhonda's son wasn't exactly perfect either, as a forty-year-old pecha berry addict who still lived with parents, but she was interrupted as Maxie walked into the kitchen.

His ruby locks were tied up in a messy ponytail, and he brought a pale hand up to fix his black-rimmed glasses.

"Hey, mum." He glanced over at Rhonda, not bothering to hide the disgust in his blood-red eyes. "Hello."

"Speak of the devil!" Rhonda cried. Maxie sniggered as she muttered, "Literally!" Hearing this, he sat down next to her and rested his hands behind his head, never breaking eye contact with her and he rocked his chair back and forth.

Rhonda seemed like a Deerling in headlights, caught in his fiery gaze, until he suddenly extended his arm, making her jump. Fast as lightning, his Crobat dove into the kitchen to perch on his arm. Rhonda shrieked as Maxie gave her a sly smile, and she got up from the table immediately.

"I'm telling you, Jenna," She yelped, walking out the door, "He doesn't belong in this town. Not here, not anywhere!" Maxie winked at Crobat, and it flapped after her, causing her to break into a half-waddle, half-run. "Mother of Arceus! He should be locked up! Oh my Arceus!" She tripped as she saw Maxie waving from the window, got up, and sprinted away.

Maxie turned to his mother with a wicked smile on his face, his mother looking back at him with a maternal glare, and then…they started laughing. He hugged her and sat back down at his chair.

"Honey, you should really stop doing that to her." Jenna giggled, trying, but failing, to drop into a more serious tone.

"Oh, mum, you know that busybody deserves it!" He wiped his glasses. "What was she going on about this time? How I am the incarnation of evil? Did she bring you the book again about how to identify psychopaths?" He placed them back over his long, pointed nose. "She talks about me so much, I swear to Arceus that she's in love with me."

His mother snorted. "Maxwell, I'm sure there is some part of her that is trying to help."

"But that part is so tiny, that not even the strongest microscope could pick it up?"

"Mmhmm." Jenna turned to face the window.

Maxie's grin dulled as he watched her turn away. "You alright?"

She smiled back at him. "Don't worry about me, dear. I'm fine." She returned to the table, put her arms around Maxie's head, and gave him a kiss on the forehead. "I'm just going to miss having my Maxie around to make me laugh."

Then Jenna jolted upright. "Oh goodness! Look at the time!" She looked at her son's black wool sweater and jeans. "I suppose what you're wearing will have to do…I've been asking you this for nineteen years now, but aren't you hot? It's over 90 degrees out there!"

Maxie laughed. "No, mother."

"No, I suppose you aren't. Well, then, I'll at least make your hair a bit more dignified." She went into the bathroom and came out with a bottle of gel. Untying Maxie's ponytail, she began to pull his hair back behind his ears, giving him a perfect red slope which curled upwards at the ends.

Though his mother had been giving him this hairstyle for special occasions since he was an infant, he rather liked how posh and in control it made him feel, as if he had evolved from a dirt-poor Metapod into a princely Butterfree.

When Jenna finished, Maxie stood, let out a long sigh, and went towards the door. "To be honest, mum, I was hoping that my little distraction there would keep me from having to go to this "Seeing" thing at all."

"I had a feeling. You're very good at manipulating people, honey, but you'll never fool your own mother !"

"I'll have to work on it. Until next time, m'lady." He bowed slowly, pretending to tip an invisible top-hat. She smacked his arm mid-bow.

"GO!"

Maxie inhaled deeply as he walked out into the late-afternoon sun, raising his face to the warm summer rays. While all the other villagers of Cianwood loathed days like this, Maxie relished the heat. By some odd miracle, his ivory skin refused to burn, and he rarely sweated, if at all.

As he crunched along the road, he saw a group of men his age down on the coast, playing frisbee, wrestling in the sand, or finding any other way they could to show off their leathery tans and muscles toned at sea to a trio of schoolgirls, who seemed delighted by the entertainment.

Maxie snickered. _Idiots_. he thought to himself. _The lot of them. There the males are, doing a little mating dance for the females. Oh, the females like that, don't they?_ He grinned.

Surprisingly, all through his childhood, Maxie had never been bullied, despite how different he was from the others. They seemed to at least have some respect for the young man. Or he scared the shit out of them. Either way, they left him alone.

Maxie's destination, the seer Terese's hut, was located halfway down the city, and was ancient, as well as considered to be haunted. Villagers only dared to enter the enigmatic house if they planned to leave to city as adults, in a tradition called the Seeing. In it, Terese was to read the person's fortune, hopefully telling them important and encouraging hints about their futures that might come in handy along the way. However, many were so afraid of hearing a bad fortune that they avoided leaving Cianwood for their entire lives and settled down as fishermen and medicine-makers instead. But Maxie would never let some silly rumors and unfounded fears stop him from living his life, _Especially not if it forced me to stay in this blasted town for eternity!_

Maxie approached the entrance of Terese's hut, the skies beginning to darken as evening came. He was met with a rusty knocker in the shape of a Murkrow, which he went to use, but found that the door was already cracked open. He entered, figuring that the old woman had not forgotten about their appointment.

"Well, this is odd." The room was wrapped, from floor to ceiling, with purple velvet. Countless figurines, metal symbols, and masks littered the walls. A dried Jigglypuff was the centerpiece of a little wooden table with chairs which had unfamiliar symbols carved all over them. Maxie nodded to the Jigglypuff, whose eyes were not the most adorable in death, and glanced around the room for Terese.

"Hello? Is anyone here?" The hut seemed to be deserted. Maxie looked inside a flowerpot for kicks. She wasn't there either. "Miss Terese?"

He wandered over to the corner of the room, and found a small kitchen attached to it. Over the fireplace, on a simple pedestal lay a large blue jewel.

"My, my. What could you be?" Maxie found himself oddly drawn to the round ornament, and reached out to touch it. "Just once, and I doubt she'd notice a thing…"

His hand was grabbed by a set of wiry, yet powerful fingers. "Excuse me, young man! Hasn't anyone taught you manners?!" An ancient-looking woman, who only came up to his shoulders in height stood there, looking up at him disdainfully.

"Miss Terese!" Maxie blushed. What on earth was wrong with him? "I'm so sorry ma'am, I don't know what came over me."

"Hmph. Well, I wouldn't expect anything more from a child." Maxie's blush deepened. "But let's try to have a fresh start, shall we?" She released him, and beckoned for him to follow. She took a seat in the first room. Maxie sat across from her, trying not his best not to concentrate on the Jigglypuff monstrosity in between them.

"If my memory serves me right, your name is Maxie, correct? Harvey and Jenna's boy?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"And you're leaving us for Rustboro University?"

"Yes'm. To study geology."

"Hm, I see…" Terese looked him in the eyes, Maxie getting the strange feeling that she was looking straight through them, then clapped her hands together. "Right, then. Let's get started."

She brought down from a shelf a shallow basin filled with a clear liquid. "I'll be reading your fortune today with some simple water viewing. I won't be able to tell you definite facts about your future, young man, but I hope that this will at least give you some insight on the nature of your fate."

Maxie watched as Terese pressed her forefingers to her temples and gazed into the water, her lips fluttering with silent verses. Her eyes widened, and she looked up at him, a wise smile on her face.

"Well, now, Maxie. I have to admit, your fortune is greater than many. I can see that you have quite a bit of ambition…and I've been told that you will someday find yourself a leader to many. One day, it seems, the entire world will know your name." She looked back into the shimmering pool of water. "You have an incredible deal of power inside you, though I'm not sure you realize how much quite yet."

Maxie shrugged with a growing smile. She seemed concerned by his nonchalant reaction.

"Maxwell Matsubusa. You must be very careful. I will warn you now: Power, even that which resides inside you, can become hard to handle. Do not let it get to your head. Many a good man has been tempted to evil by Power."

Maxie's smile stayed strong. "I don't think you have to worry, Miss Terese. I'm very pleased by what you've told me. But I have no desire to be controlled by anything, let alone my own flaws. I will be fine."

"Yes…yes, I'm sure you will be." She rose. "Right. Now we'll just finish up these Seeing with a little ceremonial tea." She left the room.

"_That certainly went better than expected." _he thought. He had a great power? Not that he was surprised, but hearing it from the psychic was comforting.

A crash from the kitchen brought Maxie back from his happy daydreaming.

"Miss Terese?" he called, "Is everything alright in there?"

He heard nothing, and ran out to the kitchen to find that a kettle had been dropped to the floor, hot water spreading around it. Terese was huddled before the fireplace, rocking. At the sound of Maxie's footsteps, she turned with a jolt.

Maxie gasped, finding black holes where the old woman's kindly eyes had once been.

"_MAXWELL_." She groaned. He shuddered at her voice, which pierced into the very depths of his heart. "_MAXWELL MATSUBUSA! THE FIRE CHILD!"_

He desperately wished to run, but found his feet cemented in place. She opened her wrinkled mouth much wider than it should have been able to, and began to chant.

_Brother_ _behemoths rest in the dark  
But love's demise will make the spark  
If the Old Ones shall awaken yond  
Our earth may never 'gain see the dawn_

_As flame does grow, a price is paid,  
As fire dances, his soul shall fade,  
As long as fire and water clash  
His inner flame shall turn to ash. _

Though the words beat in Maxie's heart like an ancient drum, he couldn't understand their meaning. After the final line, Terese's head snapped upward and her eyes became her own, as if the gods were releasing her from a great burden.

Maxie felt the hold on his legs release, and he fell forward onto his knees with a smack.

Terese skittered over and helped him up. "Dear me! You must have tripped on my old wooden floors. They're reliable, but a bit naughty!" She noticed the fallen kettle. "Oh my goodness me! I suppose I dropped the kettle again."

Maxie backed away from her slowly, confusion twisting at him.

She took a small clay cup from her cupboard, poured some of the tea that had been saved into it, and put it in redhead's shaking hands.

"Drink up!" Terese chirped. With only a moment of hesitation, he drank, finding the tea to taste like seaweed dipped in honey. It wasn't bad.

She reached a finger to Maxie's forehead, and pushed back. "May Arceus watch over you, and be merciful." She took his cup and patted him (on the hip, for that was where she could most easily reach). "You may go!"

"Th…thank you ma'am." And with that, Maxie walked as quickly as he could out the door.

The sky was now dark, covered in softly glowing stars. He continued his long strides on his way home, with his face turned to the ground below.

"Arceus above, what the hell was _that?_" he whispered. "Bloody hell…"

He stopped himself. "Alright, Maxie. Calm down. She's a psychic, remember!" He continued walking, with a half-smile on his lips. "Psychics surely have moments like that all the time, right? Right. She wasn't talking about me. I just happened to be there."

Maxie punched the air, his temper rising. "Fucking psychics…She could have at least warned me she was going to go completely mental. Fucking, fucking psychics."

As he neared his house, his grumbles were interrupted by the screech of Crobat, who flew down from the roof to meet him. It perched itself on Maxie's shoulders and nuzzled his ear.

"Hey, Crobat." Many people were frightened by the pokemon, but Maxie was deeply fond of his friend. "Ah, I brought you something special." He reached into his pocket and brought out a little chunk of the dried Jigglypuff. Crobat nipped it from his fingers and swallowed, chirping happily. "I thought you might like that, love." he cooed.

Crobat flew off to the patch of trees surrounding the caves as Maxie entered the house. The dining room was lit, and he could hear voices coming from inside. He grimaced. He and his mother never used the dining room, much preferring to eat in the kitchen where it was comfortable. This must mean that his father had decided to eat with his family tonight, rather than in his office as usual.

Maxie took a deep breath and entered. He squinted as his eyes adjusted to the ghastly orange color of the walls. His mother stood and put a finger to her lips.

_He's on the phone, _she mouthed. Maxie rolled his eyes.

_With work? _

She nodded.

He sat at the end of the table, across from his father who was seated at the head. Dinner was already laid out in large platters all along the table: barbequed eel on a mountain of white, steaming rice, seaweed tossed with sesame seeds and a sweet dressing, and a slices of pickled turnip that Jenna had canned last fall.

"Boy!"

Maxie looked up from the food he would have liked on his plate to his father, still on the phone.

Harvey Matsubusa was revolting. He wore a thin, white shirt that was soaked with sweat, revealing his endless folds of sagging fat. His face alone was an enormity, yellow and drooping with stubbly chins. He had a pair of beady eyes that were like two black raisins pushed into a doughy roll. Upon his shiny head was a thinning layer of red hair, combed back into a curl like Maxie's. Many told Maxie that he looked just like his father, but this suggestion often made him feel nauseous.

"Boy!" his father repeated. He snapped twice and glared at his son.

Dutifully, Maxie took his father's plate and began to cover it with food. He watched as his father poured the rest of a bottle of wine into his glass, and slurped at it noisily. In between gulps he would respond to the person on the other line with a snort or a grunt. He placed the plate before his father, who showed no indication of gratitude.

Maxie returned to his seat. He and his mother were forbidden from talking or eating until Harvey gave them permission to do so.

"That'll do." his father growled into the phone. "Just get rid of him. You know what I mean." He took another sip of his wine. "Yes, indeed. And do give the Madame my regards." He hung up, and began to pile food into his mouth.

Jenna gave food to Maxie and herself, and cleared her throat.

"Harvey, dear. Why don't you ask Maxwell about his Seeing?" Her normally cheerful voice trembled at the edges.

Harvey grunted. "Why don't you get me some more wine and let me ask my son questions when I'm good and ready, woman?"

"Yes, dear." She pulled out a new bottle and gave it to her husband. Maxie felt a spark of irritation crawl up his neck.

"Now how _was _the Seeing, Maxwell?"

"Fine."

"Maxwell."

"Fine, _sir_!"

"MAXWELL."

Maxie looked down at his rice. "She told me that I'll have very good fortune. I'll be a leader, it seems. And I must do something great, because everyone will know who I am."

Jenna squealed and reached over to hug her son, but stopped when she heard her husband's laugh.

His fatty face was crinkled into evil delight, his yellow teeth bared.

"I must have married a bimbo and sired a fool. Do either of you really think that's true?" He laughed again. "My dear Maxwell. A success. You're a freak, a smart-ass, and damn waste of a son."

Maxie felt the spark of irritation burst into flame. His temper began to simmer at the back of his tongue.

"You have no interest in carrying on the family business. You spend all your days up in those damn caves!" Harvey smashed his fist on the table. "You can't even bring a bloody girl home. What kind of man are you!?"

The simmer became a raging boil. It took all of Maxie's willpower not to snap.

His father took another gulp of wine. "I swear to Arceus, Maxwell, if you go off to college and find that you like fucking men, please don't bother coming home. You're a disgrace as it is." Harvey pushed his massive self from the table and out the door to his office with a slam.

Maxie sat there steaming. His mother put her arms around him, rubbing his back.

"Maxie, your father means well. He really does."

He said nothing.

"He loves you very much. I'm sure he's proud of you."

This put a sarcastic smile on his face. How could his mother be so blind? His father treated the two of them like dirt. He spent every day up in that office of his, making deals with this organization he loved so much. When he bothered to show up, he made Maxie's life miserable and insulted Jenna at any chance he could. The harsher the insults got during the day, the louder the sounds of their bedsprings got at night. She loved the abuse, was even devoted to it. It made Maxie sick.

Maxie pushed his mother away. "Well, he sure has a good way of showing it."

Jenna smiled, as if some part of her believed her son's words, and took his hands.

"Maxie, my little Maxie. You must know that I am incredibly proud of you. You mustn't ever forget that." He raised his scarlet eyes to meet his mother's brown ones. "You are going to be such a wonderful man someday. But remember that you'll always be my little boy, and I will support you no matter what."

They embraced. Maxie said goodnight and wandered up to his room, fell on his bed, and was asleep within minutes, moonlight cradling his weary frame.

He woke to the sound of tapping. Maxie sat up and found Crobat outside his window. It was early morning. Maxie knew that this would be his last opportunity in a while to enjoy the caves, so he ran down the stairs and outdoors, where Crobat swooped down to meet him. They quietly climbed their way up the dirt path

Maxie thought the inside of the caves were beautiful. He loved the formation of the stone, the way the minerals caught within rock to shimmer into rainbows, the smell of ancient earth.

They traveled through the natural pathways until they reached the top, leading to an opening that which gave a haunting view of the sea. Maxie kept a firm hold on the mouth of the cave as he looked out.

"Everyone seems to love the ocean, don't they Crobat?"

Crobat screeched and hopped next to his friend.

"I just don't understand…" he gazed down into the crashing waves, "…how they are not as afraid of it as I am."

"People are so fearful of flame, how it can burn and destroy, and of the land, which could shake and crumble before their feet at any time. But the water can put out fire and erode the land until it is nothing. The ocean may be lovely to behold as we can see it," He gulped. "but nobody knows its true depths. It could go on for eternity as far as we know, and be the keeper of a thousand ugly secrets."

He sat against the cave wall and closed his eyes, comforted by the touch of the land.

If he listened carefully enough, he could hear it singing.

Everything was packed for Maxie's departure. He stood on the balcony of the boat which would take him to Hoenn, saying his last goodbyes. Jenna stood by her neighbors with a box of tissues, waving.

A bell clanged on the boat, and it started to move.

"Goodbye Maxie!" she called.

"Bye, mum!"

"Don't pick up one of those bloody Hoenn accents, ya hear!?" one of his neighbors crowed.

"I'll try, Arthur!"

"Goodbye!" they all shouted.

Once Cianwood was finally out of sight, Maxie could relax. He peered down off the boat into the glittering water, finding his young, smiling face looking back at him, hope shining in his eyes.

The boat sailed away, towards a new beginning.

_To be continued in Chapter Two__  
_


	2. Chapter 2: Archie

**Author's Note: So, here we are with Chapter Two. This was surprisingly difficult to write, for some odd reason, but I finally got it done! It seems like these chapters will be coming out every other week, so stay tuned. Thank you to everyone who read the first chapter, your support makes me so happy. :) Anyways, this chapter contains the beginnings of hardenshipping (WOO!).**

**Chapter Two: Archie**

Maxie's first thought after getting off the boat and entering Rustboro City was how overwhelmingly _huge_ everything was. The city had skyscrapers hundreds of levels higher than any of the buildings in Cianwood, the streets were wide enough for four lanes of cars to pass through, and the ships at the port towered over the little boat Maxie arrived on.

Even the people were large, Maxie found, as he shimmied through the bustling streets to Rustboro University. Everyone he passed, even businessmen, was dressed in blindingly bright colors which matched their booming voices, with accents that sounded like cement on the tongue. And they were so _tall_. Maxie had always been proud, at 5' 9'', to be one of the taller men in Cianwood, but now, finding himself only coming up to the shoulders of many of these Hoennians, felt pretty pathetic.

Crobat, feeling his friend's distress, crawled on top of Maxie head to give him a little more height. Maxie patted his wing in thanks, and squinted through his glasses at his map.

"We'll be there soon enough, Crobat." he said, looking around him at the street signs. "According to this map, it should be right around the corner."

He turned left and walked right into a flock of balloons. "Gah!" He swam through the decorations, tripping over strings, and found himself in front of a girl who was smiling so hard he feared her face might crack.

"Hey there! Welcome to Rustboro University!" she shouted. Maxie, still dazed from the attack of the balloons, glanced around, seeing that he had come to the front gate of the university. He turned back to the girl, her face still in that plastic smile.

"Ehm…well…hello." he mumbled.

"I'm Emily, and I'll be your special guide!" She grabbed his hand with the strength of a Pinsir on steroids and pulled him towards the gate.

Maxie tried to pull his hand away, but she held on tighter and continued speaking.

"I'm here as a friendly face for new students like you! We, here at RU, want to make you feel less afraid about being at school! Aren't you comforted by me?"

"On the contrary, I…"

"What is your name?" She smiled at him harder.

Emily and Maxie, as they walked (or were dragged) through the campus, were joined by dozens of other pairs of greeters and students, all in the same awkward scenario.

"I…my name is Maxie." He looked at his new classmates. Some were just as unhappy to have their hands held as he was, but he was shocked to see that many looked absolutely terrified, and seemed to like the physical contact. _Am I going to college or to kindergarten? _he thought. _Arceus above._

"Well, nice to meet you, Maxie! And where are you from?"

"Cianwood City. In Johto."

"Wow! That's so far! Though RU is one of the smallest and most selective schools on our continent, " she spoke as if from a script, "we tend to mostly have students from Hoenn. We do get quite a few from Kanto as well.

But Johto students are rare! I suppose all of the growth hormones we eat are actually making us smarter than you guys, who only have natural foods!" Her attempt at a joke failed miserably.

Maxie felt a great relief when Emily stopped in front of a brick dorm building and released his hand.

"Here we are!" she announced. "Your new home! Please go in and join your new dorm buddies! Good luck to you!"

Maxie steadied his hold on his bag and made his way up the stairs, into the building.

The place seemed nice enough. The furniture in the lobby seemed antique in an endearing way, and a fireplace was built at the back of the room, carved out of rust-colored stone. He saw a group of students gathered around the unlit fireplace, and went to join them.

He heard a squeal as he came closer, and saw an upperclassman, with curly blonde hair and a Rustboro University scarf tied around his head, race over.

"He's here! He's finally here!" he shrieked with delight.

"Yes. I'm herOOF" Maxie was pulled into a hug by the lanky male. He heard the group titter at the sight.

The older boy grabbed Maxie's shoulders. "Sit down! Sit down!" He shook him, grinning. "You're the last to arrive, so now we can get started!"

Maxie pushed his bag off to the side and joined the semi-circle, shyly keeping himself away from the others. He hated meeting new people, especially ones like these that seemed so enthusiastic.

The blonde boy clapped to get the group's attention. "Hi everybody! I'm Klein! I'll be your dorm's upperclassman supervisor. You have no idea how happy I am to see ya'll!"

He took a deep breath to continue, then stopped, looking around. "Wait. We're missing one. What was his name…Arfie? Alfred? Arnold?" He started pacing in circles, calling out. "Arff…no, Arnold! Arnie! Where are you, Armin?"

Klein flapped his hands wildly, until they landed on his hips. "Darn it. My first day as a dorm supervisor and I've already lost one." His scarf seemed to flop over to match the sadness of its wearer. "And he was _so_ cute, too."

"Looking for me?"

The group turned behind them to find the source of the voice. It was a tall young man, leaning against a doorway, with black curls soaking wet and sticking to his slightly unshaven cheeks. Below his round eyes shone a pearly-white smile that was equally angelic and devilish at once. He was also wearing only a towel, as all were quick to notice, revealing a tan, muscular chest.

Maxie felt his face burst into flame, and when he realized, to his horror, why he was blushing, his cheeks became a darker shade of tomato. _What is happening to me?_ He shook his head. _I can't possibly find him…attractive? _He looked at the girls around him who were giggling to their friends about the dark-haired arrival. _Ah, everyone thinks he's nice-looking, right? _He sighed. _Some people are like that. _He glanced back at the toweled boy. _And I could just be jealous. Certainly that must be the answer. _

The boy spoke again, his deep rumble of a voice echoing through the lobby. "I'm sorry I vanished. I decided to get a quick shower while we waited for everyone to show up. It's way too hot out."

A freckled girl sat up. "Excuse me, but aren't the showers on this floor for the girls?"

He left the door way to stand a few feet from her. "Don't worry." He winked. "I knew that."

The girls gasped. Klein fanned his face, flustered as well. "Arno…Abraham…Arlo…"

"Archie." He grinned.

"Archie! Well, I'm not sure if the girls here can handle…" He motioned up and down Archie. "…all this. Could you save their innocence and put on a shirt, please?"

Archie squeezed himself between two of the girls, and sat so the towel was almost too revealing. "I don't know about that!" He put his arms around them. "You don't mind, do ya, ladies?" They shook their heads wildly.

Maxie, through this "performance", found that he couldn't look at Archie without his face turning a deeper shade of red. He pretended that the faded green carpet was a far more interesting subject that the man across from him.

Klein cleared his throat. "Now, I have to go over a few rules before you can all go off and fight to the death over Archie. The first two floors of this dorm are all girls; the third and fourth are all boys. You can go freely between them, of course. You're adults here. Once you pick up your keys, you should go to your rooms to unpack. You all will have a roommate, so please try to be friendly with them." He clapped his hands excitedly. "Now we should say a little about ourselves! You, start!"

Maxie heard only bits and pieces of what the students said. Almost all were from Hoenn; two others were from Kanto and one was from Unova. A Music major, an Archeology major…pick, pick, pick….Maxie picked deeper and deeper into the carpet as each student introduced themselves, barely paying attention.

"Hey, you! Red hair!"

He looked up, surprised.

Klein came over and patted his head. "Your turn!"

Maxie looked down, hoping to avoid eye contact with anyone, but Archie especially.

"I'm Maxie Matsubusa. I came here to major in Geology because I'm very interested in the…"

"Yes, yes, wonderful." Klein interrupted. "But do my ears deceive me? You have the most precious accent!" He jumped up and down. "Did you hear?! "I came he-ah to maj-ah"! It's adorable."

He heard a deep voice. "You must be from Johto, then? I've heard it's an awesome region." To Maxie's surprise, it was Archie, who seemed genuinely interested. Maxie heard a banging in his head and looked away quickly.

"Yeah. It's pretty neat there."

Klein moved on, and Maxie's carpet-picking became more vigorous as Archie's turn approached. Maxie found his eyes wandering up to look at the other young man when he started speaking.

"Hey, guys. I'm Archie Aogiri, and I'm a Radio Broadcasting major. I'm also…" He flashed another smile. "…a breathtaking lover."

Maxie had the strange feeling that Archie had looked right at him with these last few words, and squirmed in his sitting position, suddenly unable to get comfortable.

"Nah." Archie laughed, a sound like waves crashing against glass chimes. "Look, I just love having a good time. So if you like to party, I'll see you guys later!"

With the end of Archie's words, Klein finished the meeting. "That's everyone!" He ripped off his scarf and waved it around. "Now get out of here and go have fun!"

Maxie, still trying to get his face to cool off, followed the group to collect his key, and headed upstairs to his room on the third floor.

His room was a tiny space, but that was to be expected in a dorm. His roommate wasn't there yet, so he unpacked and began decorating. He released Crobat, who helped him hang up posters of interesting landforms and an old print of the legendary pokemon Groudon, from one of his favorite mythology storybooks he had loved as a child. After covering the desk with his collection of geology books, and with no sign of the roommate, Maxie laid down on his new bed, exhausted. His eyelids fluttered as he slipped into a heavy doze.

An hour or two later, he woke up to find someone sitting on his bed, holding his hand gently.

Maxie's head was confused and fogged up from sleep. "…Mum?" He must have dreamed about going to college. He was still at home with his mother, wasn't he? He pulled the hand to his cheek and snuggled it, a part of him happy to be in the comforts of his home.

He heard raucous—and very manly—laughter and sat straight up, snapping his eyes open. The same shirtless man from downstairs was lying on his bed, grabbing at his stomach from the pain of laughing so hard. This time, at least, he had a shirt, but it was tied around his head to resemble more motherly hair.

"What the fuck…what the FUCK are you doing here?" Maxie roared, his face, to his dismay, matching his hair perfectly.

"Oh my god, your face! Arceus kill me, you fell for it!" He snorted and fell off the bed, giggling.

Maxie was stunned, mostly because he was half-asleep, but still utterly in shock.

Archie calmed down a bit and rose, squeezing Maxie's shoulder. "Oh man. Sorry for interrupting your beauty rest, red! Just playing with you." He pulled his fingers through his now-dry, short curly hair. "Of course I don't want to get off to the wrong start with my roommate, but I couldn't resist. You were sleeping so soundly, man!" He offered his right hand.

Maxie shook his head, mouth open. Archie grabbed Maxie's hand and shook it, as it seemed the latter was too confused to remember what handshakes were.

"I introduced myself downstairs, but the name's Archie. It's nice to meet you…?"

Maxie finally began to wake up at bit, especially from the jolt of electricity he felt run through him as Archie touched his hand. "Ehm…oh, it's Maxie. My name's Maxie."

Archie grinned and went to his side of the room, which Maxie noticed had been brightened up by his roommate while he had been asleep. With his glasses still off from his nap, Maxie could just make out that most of Archie's posters were, to his distaste, of half-naked women in various "interesting" poses. There did seem to be one poster, though, that was not of a scantily-clad female, but Maxie couldn't tell in his present state.

"Maxie, I've gotta say, I've really been admiring your posters over there." Archie sat on his own bed. "You must be some kinda genius or something to hang that stuff up. All I'm seeing are rocks."

Maxie snorted. "They're only the most geologically significant landforms in the history of our continent. They are much more than "rocks"."

"Yeah, cool. I'm not much of one for academics, so take it easy on me, man." Archie gasped and put a hand to his mouth. "Unless that's what gets you off. I'm so sorry, I don't judge."

"What?"

Archie gave him a sympathizing look. "Look, I know there's many types. Straight, gay, bi. But if you're into rocks, I get that. We all gotta love something."

Maxie was completely taken aback. "What…NO!" What was this guy's problem?

Archie laughed. "Dude, you get embarrassed so easily. I'm joking."

Maxie didn't know what to say. Archie was one of the most traumatizing people he had ever met, and he had only lived with him for ten minutes. He put on his glasses, waiting for the next psychological blow.

"Hey, we have the opposite posters!"

Maxie looked over, seeing that Archie's only child-appropriate poster was of Kyogre. "Yes, we do, don't we?" He felt a glimmer of hope that he might be able to connect with this other man. "That comes from Erkbird's Book of Myths, doesn't it? Are you interested in mythology as well?"

"Nope." Archie pounded the picture of the giant whale. "I just think Kyogre is fucking awesome!"

Maxie looked at him with disbelief as Archie laughed on and on. _He really doesn't seem very bright, does he? But he got into RU, so he has to be smart, somehow. _

_But how?_

_How?_

Classes started the next morning, so at 7 o'clock sharp Maxie was out of bed and ready to get to breakfast. As he placed what he would need for the day in his pack, he glanced over to Archie's bed.

His roommate was still curled under the covers, snoring heavily. Though Maxie didn't really want to disturb him, he felt that getting Archie to his classes on time on the first day of school was his duty as a roommate. Maxie walked over to Archie's bed and gently pushed him through his turquoise blankets.

Archie showed no sign of waking up, so Maxie pushed him a little harder.

"Archie…Archie…you have to get up now."

The dark-haired man let out a large snort and sat up.

"Good morning, Archie."

"Humph." The jovial guy of last night had been replaced with a grumpy, zombie of a man. Archie looked at Maxie, got up, and began getting dressed, silently, with an empty look in his eyes.

Maxie sat back down on his bed and rubbed his long nose. He could just go to breakfast without Archie, but he had a feeling that the world would be safer if he kept an eye on him. He uneasily took out his schedule.

"Ehm…what classes do you have, Archie?"

Archie scratched his chin and yawned. "I have Environmental Science later this morning."

Maxie smiled carefully. "I do, too. I'm rather excited, aren't you? It should be a fun class."

Archie stared at him. "No." He turned back to buttoning his pants. "I have English in the afternoon. I hate that us freshmen have to take these stupid required classes. Why do I need to take English?" He found a shirt. "I know fucking English."

"Well, you could've taken Advanced Literature and Poetry Composition. That's what I'm doing."

Archie grunted. "Oh, right, you're smart. Damn. Why would you even take that if it's not part of your major?"

Maxie scratched his neck. "Well, I…I like writing."

"Aw, fuck, that's such bullshit, man." Archie vigorously flipped his shirt on. "That's a rare breed of people who actually like writing, and you're one of them." He played with his black curls, making them a neater kind of messy. "You know what I _can_ do? Eat. Let's go."

Maxie followed him across the campus to the cafeteria, which was already packed with students. After getting a plate of eggs, Maxie sat down alone by the window, watching the people around him. He saw that Archie was seated across the room, surrounded by girls. He seemed to be awake now, as he was his usual self, clearly flirting with everyone at the table.

He poked a hole in the egg with his fork and watched a yellow trail of yolk slide down it, like a little volcano.

_It's not like I want him to sit with me, _He thought to himself. _It's not like I put in the effort to wake his sorry ass up or anything._

He smiled and took a bite of his breakfast. It was fine with Maxie. The only company he needed was his own thoughts.

Maxie left the cafeteria as soon as he could to get to Environmental Science. He found a seat, front and center, and took out a maroon notebook, ready to take notes as soon as possible. His classmates looked at the thin redhead strangely as they sat around him, mystified by his excited grin.

Archie was one of the last students to enter the classroom, sitting in the back corner. He brought out a navy-blue sweatshirt from his bag and fluffed it up on his desk, as if he were making a nest. Maxie raised an eyebrow inquisitively, catching Archie's eyes. The dark-haired man gave him a thumbs-up and plunged his face into the sweatshirt nest, clearly planning to nap through this class.

Maxie rolled his eyes and turned his gaze to the front of the room as the professor entered. He tried to get Archie's antics out of his head. _What Archie does during class is none of my concern. I'm excited about the class, and that's all that really matters, right?_

The professor was short and stocky, with a round stomach that slightly stretched the jacket of his tweed suit. He seemed to be middle-aged, with dark lavender hair speckled with grey and defined lines around his mouth. He took out a pair of reading glasses from his pocket with a flourish and gave a warm smile to the class.

"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen." His voice was a soft baritone. "My name is Dr. Yardley Homura, and I'll be teaching you about the basics of the wonderful natural world we live in." He played with the pen in between his fingers. "Oh, and please do call me Yardley. I hate to make things too formal here, and we are all equal adults, are we not?"

Yardley opened his binder. "Let's get started, shall we? Now, I realize that this class is required for you all, but that doesn't mean you should treat it as such. All of you will do well to know a bit about how the earth functions, as you have no choice but to live in it." He began to walk around the room. "We will begin the semester with theories on how planets are formed, dabble in a bit of Oceanography, and end with my personal passion, Geology. Am I blessed to have a few Geology majors here?"

Maxie raised his hand, along with one other girl. Yardley acknowledged them both with a nod. "You will certainly be seeing more of me, then. I'm the head of the Geology department and have the honor of teaching most of its classes. Welcome."

The rest of the class was spent reviewing the syllabus in more detail. As Yardley described each subject that would be covered, he could hear Archie's snores from behind him, which the professor chose to ignore. It was only until Maxie was leaving the class that he heard Yardley scold his sleeping student, making Maxie smirk with satisfaction.

At lunchtime, Maxie took his food outside to the top of a hill, where the sun was brightest. He laid down and closed his eyes, enjoying the summer breeze, still glowing from how much he had liked his new professor.

"Hey, dude."

His daydreaming interrupted, Maxie's eyes snapped open, and found Archie standing above him with his tray. He propped himself up to look at the muscly male.

"Hey, Archie…What do you want?"

Archie laughed, his teeth as bright as the sunny hill. "What do I want? I'm having lunch with you."

Maxie sat up a little more. "Oh, you don't have to, really!" To his dismay, the darker male laid down next to him and put his tray next to Maxie's. Despite not really wanted to eat with anybody, he felt as if the tiniest Butterfree were fluttering around in his stomach.

"Don't you…don't you have some women to seduce or something?" Maxie asked, a bit timidly.

"Women to seduce?" Nah, I don't do that all the time. I gotta leave time for other people!" He reached out and playfully ruffled Maxie's hair, to the redhead's embarrassment. "Besides, us roommates have gotta stick together, right?"

"I suppose?" Though Maxie's first instinct was to ask him to leave, he couldn't ignore how much he liked being alone with Archie, and only a few feet apart. _I guess having lunch with him once won't kill me. He'll probably eat with his friends next time. _

But the next day, and the day after, Archie met him up on the hill, friendly as ever. Weeks passed with this same routine. For the first month or so, Archie would do most of the talking, telling Maxie about the new people he was meeting, how dull his classes were, and other such things. Soon, however, Maxie began telling him about his days as well. The conversations became less and less about school, and Maxie was surprised at how much wanted to tell Archie about himself.

As the semester passed, Maxie learned that Archie was everything he hated about humanity. He was incredibly lazy, and only did enough work in class to pass exams. He slept through most of his classes, never studied, and kept his side of the room a mess. Archie spent every other night out partying, often coming back with a new girl (or two). He was rude, impolite, vulgar, and much too honest about everything.

Yet Maxie loved being around him.

"Maxie, this is fucking terrible."

Maxie was on his bed and lying on his stomach, reading. He looked to Archie's side of the room, where his roommate was angrily erasing from a piece of paper. The red-head smirked.

"Still working on that poem, Archie?"

"YES! Of course I am. I fucking hate poetry," Archie growled, rubbing his neck.

Maxie sighed. "I can't help you with all your assignments, Arch. You have to do this one yourself" He turned back to his book.

"Please, Maxie!" Archie whined, "Come on, man!"

Maxie glared at Archie. "It's due tomorrow, isn't it?"

"Maybe…?"

"Archie!" He threw his book down in mock irritation. "Fine. You incorrigible twat." Maxie climbed on to Archie bed and picked up the piece of paper, grey with erased pencil marks. "Maybe you have something good so far."

He read the poem out loud, squinting through Archie sloppy writing.

"His face is like paste,  
And like paste,  
Is stuck on my mind,  
because sometimes  
when he's so smart  
I just want to rip that red hair  
out of his scalp.  
But he's cool  
So I won't do that  
today

Archie started laughing, and grabbed the paper from Maxie's hands. The "paste-faced one" gave him a dirty look and went back to his own bed, picked up his book and turned away from Archie.

"Aw, Maxie!" Archie went over to Maxie and stood in front of the bed. "You know me, man. I don't mean it."

Maxie turned around swiftly, and smacked Archie's head with the book, a grin on his face. Archie, taken by surprise, looked at him stupidly.

"Archie, Archie, Archie. How little you know." Maxie poked Archie's stomach. "My skin is clearly not paste. It's cream. Please remember next time or I'll have to punish you again."

Archie saluted. "Yes, sir. Will do." He brought his binder over to Maxie's bed. "But really, I need help with this thing."

Maxie opened the binder. "What's your assignment, anyway? Let's see…ok. You have to write a sonnet on something you love."

Archie rolled his eyes. "Unfortunately. I'm terrible at poetry anyway, man, but sonnets are little Zubat assholes."

Crobat, who had been taking a nap on their windowsill, opened an eye and chirped reproachfully.

Maxie pushed his glasses on his nose. "This isn't so bad, Archie. It's just an easy pattern. What's something that you love?" Archie shrugged. "Well, you like food. You like sex. You like Kyogre, right?"

He continued making suggestions while leafing through Archie's binder. After a while of this, Maxie realized Archie wasn't responding. He looked up to find Archie's deep-blue eyes staring right at him.

Maxie felt his gut twist into a thousand knots. _He's not going to tell me he loves ME, right? No, no, no. He wouldn't. That would be impossible. _

He had dismissed the idea entirely when he felt Archie's large hands cup around his face. Maxie internally combusted.

"Wow," said Archie, softly, "I've never noticed before."

_Oh my Arceus, it's happening. Holy shit. _

He braced himself for a kiss, his heart shaking so badly he felt he might faint.

"Your eyes sure are fucking red, dude." Archie took his hands away from Maxie's face.

Maxie felt as if he had been dropped off the Devon Corporation building.

"Haha. Yeah. They're red." Maxie spoke weakly, his voice cracking.

"Dude, I can't believe I never noticed until now. I've known you for months. That's so cool!" Archie reached over and pulled off Maxie's glasses. The redhead flinched.

"Seriously, man. Chicks dig stuff like that. You should get contacts." Archie chuckled. "You might even get more girls than me!"

Maxie took his glasses back. "I don't think so. My eyes are just red, that's all." He had never hated his eye color, but it wasn't anything special to him.

"Believe me, Maxie. Get contacts." Archie squeezed his shoulder. "I'll set you up with some girls before the year ends. You can count on me." He yawned. "But, that's enough for tonight. I'm going to bed."

Maxie was getting tired himself. "Alright, goodnight." He put his book away and turned out the light. After a few minutes, he threw off the covers and turned on the light again, fire in his step.

"What are you doing?" Archie groaned.

Maxie pulled the covers off his roommate. "You were just complimenting me to get out of doing your homework, weren't you?"

Archie grinned evilly.

Maxie retrieved Archie's binder and tried to give it to him. "Not this time, Archie! You have to be responsible!"

Archie thrashed, refusing to take his homework. "Never! You'll never make me do it, you bitch!"

The redhead smiled wickedly. "Yes, I will." He threw himself on top of Archie and grabbed his torso, pushing the binder at him.

"GAH! NO!" Archie roared. He pushed Maxie over, but the paler one hung on tight, tipping them both onto the floor with a thump.

The wind was knocked out of Maxie as Archie landed on top of him. He gasped for air as Archie threw the binder across the room, out of reach, then pinned down his arms. Maxie kneed him in the stomach, and they flipped, the weaker one exerting all of his energy to keep even an arm down.

Forgetting about the binder, Maxie and Archie wrestled like madmen, laughing all the way. Just when Archie was sure he had won, Maxie would trick him and find himself holding the more muscular man down.

Eventually, the two ran out of breath, Archie collapsed on Maxie with his arms around him. Maxie tried to push the other man off, but was so exhausted that all he could do was gently punch Archie's back. Still laughing softly, Maxie was surprised when Archie's arms tightened around him into an embrace. Maxie, carefully at first, hugged the larger man back.

Neither seemed interested in letting go, so Maxie lay there, noting how much he liked the sweet, musky scent of Archie's neck.

And how safe he felt.

Suddenly, as if woken from a dream, Archie let go, coughed a bit embarrassedly, and helped Maxie up.

He laughed, his usual boisterous self. "I've never seen you so active before, Maxie!" He returned to his bed. "Could it be possible that there's another crazy Maxie in there, underneath that turtleneck?"

"Shut up!"

Maxie turned out the light and crawled under his blankets. He rolled onto his side and closed his eyes, listening to Archie move around on his sheets across the room.

"Maxie?" Archie spoke quietly but Maxie had no problem hearing him clearly.

"Hmm?"

"I just wanted to let you know…" He paused. "…Well…you're a really cool guy, Maxie."

Maxie felt his face getting hot against his pillow.

"I'm not the best with sappy stuff, but…I feel lucky that I can be friends with someone like you." Archie cleared his throat. "Anyway, goodnight."

_Friends._ Maxie felt a glowing in his chest. _He thinks of me as a friend?_ All through his nineteen years, he had never heard anyone regard him in that way. _Thank you, Archie._

Maxie fell asleep quickly, a genuinely happy smile across his face.

_To be continued…_


	3. Chapter 3: Whirlpools in Winter

**Chapter Three: Whirlpools in Winter**

With the near end of the first semester came winter, a season which Maxie hated with a passion. During these long, dreary months, he could never seem to get comfortably warm, no matter how many layers he put on. Maxie had kept the tiniest sliver of hope that winter in the Hoenn region might be different, as it was a tropical region and farther south than Johto. However, though the region in winter turned out to be cool at worst, Maxie was still freezing. Though most of the students at Rustboro University were irritable and anxious to finish the semester, Maxie was crabbier than the others, as in cold weather, he felt as if hundreds of slivers of icy glass were being pierced repeatedly into his pale skin.

"Now that we've reached the final weeks of the semester, my dear students, I was hoping we could have a little fun." Yardley smiled at his class, who finally seemed to be paying attention with the mention of "fun".

"You heard me. Fun. We are going to have…" The professor rapped his pen on his book dramatically. "…a discussion!" The class groaned. "Yes! You are going to problem-solve like the good little scientists you are."

"We live in a world that is experiencing climate changes. Global warming, you may call it." Yardley rocked on his heels, resting his hands thoughtfully on his belly. "It seems to be caused by the pollution that we humans have created. Now." He brought out a globe of the earth. "Let's say that humanity had control over our environment and you had to make a choice to try to save the planet, and your only two options were to expand the land or the sea." He looked up. "There is no correct answer, as far as even _I_ know, but which would _you _choose, and why?"

Maxie raised his hand quickly, his foul mood subsiding for the moment. These were the types of discussions he loved. Yardley started to point a finger at him, but then looked back.

"Ah! Mr. Aogiri! You go first. I believe this is a rare moment that you speak in my class!"

Maxie turned, as shocked as Yardley was. Archie was reclined, balancing his chair on the back legs with his feet on the desk.

"Well, I'd gotta say more water, Yardley my man."

"Interesting. Why?"

Archie waved a hand around lazily. "I dunno. Sounds like more fun to me! More time at the beach, more excuses for the ladies to wear bikinis, important stuff like that!" The class laughed.

Yardley sighed, wiping his reading glasses. "I'm afraid that's not much of an argument, Mr. Aogiri." He found Maxie's hand. "How about you, Mr. Matsubusa?"

Maxie smirked at Archie, then faced Yardley. "_I _believe that it would be better to create more land for our planet. The earth is made up of seventy percent water and thirty percent sea, so why would it make sense to create more ocean, where humans and most pokemon cannot live?" He sat a little higher in his chair. "With more land, there would be more places to live, grow crops, and find natural resources. Global warming would cause our entire island continent to sink under water if we didn't choose to increase the amount of land."

Yardley seemed pleased with this response. "Thank you, Mr. Matsubusa. Some very good ideas, indeed. Anyone else?"

The discussion continued throughout the class, an equal amount of students seeming to in favor of each argument. As Maxie went to leave his desk at the end, Yardley stopped him.

"Mr. Matsubusa. Can I spare a moment of your time?"

Maxie nodded. Yardley sat down, Maxie joining him in front of his desk. The professor placed his reading glasses in his poof of purple hair and smiled at the younger man.

"Well now, Mr. Matsubusa, where can I start?" He pulled out an envelope from a drawer and opened it. "I think that you are an absolutely brilliant student. Perhaps one of the best I've ever had." Yardley took a stack of papers from the envelope. "Mr..., may I call you Maxie, my boy?"

Maxie grinned. "Of course, sir."

"Maxie," He pointed to the papers, "The essays you write in my class are astounding. You excel at any and all activities I assign. Your theories on planetary refurbishment through landmass expansion are…" He turned the pages, "…breathtaking!"

The redhead smiled, looking away modestly. "Thank you so much, sir."

Yardley flipped the papers shut. "Now that this class is ending, Maxie, I felt the need to talk with you about your future plans. I would love to—no—be _honored _to serve as your academic advisor in the rest of your time here, if you'd like."

"That would be wonderful, sir."

"Good." Yardley rolled his chair to the far side of his desk, grabbing a brochure. "I also wanted to talk to you about this." He handed it to Maxie. "This summer, I will be leading a research trip to Mt. Chimney, which is a fascinating place for a future Geologist like yourself to study." He sat back. "I usually only offer such trips to my upperclassmen, but I would be thrilled to make an exception for such an incredible young mind as yours."

Maxie glanced through the brochure excitedly. He looked up, a sparkle in his ruby eyes. "I would love to join you, sir."

"Good. I thought you might." Yardley pointed to the last page. "However, there is an examination you will have to pass in March to be eligible for the program. It's a difficult little test, but I'm sure you'll have no great difficulty, if I know you as well as I think I do." Yardley got up from his chair.

Maxie stood and shook Yardley's hand. "I won't disappoint you!"

Yardley lead Maxie to the door. "I know you won't, my boy. It'll be a pleasure working with you next semester. Have a good afternoon!"

Maxie flinched as he walked out in the December air, his terrible winter mood returning as he brought the woolly collar of his black, knee-length coat a little closer to his neck. Crunching through the grass to the hill where Archie would be waiting, he tried to concentrate on the rhythm of his footsteps rather than his discomfort. His inner grumbling matched the beat: _Bloody cold. Bloody cold. Bloody cold!_

Archie laughed when he saw his shivering friend. "Dude. Maxie, you look like a really depressed Torkoal."

The redhead growled and sat next to his roommate. "Why do you insist we eat out here in the dead of winter?"

The dark-haired man shrugged. He was wearing only a light, long-sleeved shirt and a scarf. "It's not that bad, man. You're just crazy."

Maxie glared at him and put his head between his knees.

Archie crawled over and uncurled him. "Here." He undid his dark-green scarf and tied in around Maxie's neck. He flicked the paler man's numb nose and grinned at him. Maxie tried to hide his smile in his coat. "Is that better?"

"Yeah, thanks."

Archie turned to his food, then looked over to Maxie. "No lunch, today, man?"

Maxie closed his eyes. "It's too cold. My body's on shutdown."

"That's what you said yesterday, so I brought ya this." He pushed a steaming mug at Maxie.

It was filled with a hot, golden broth, with tiny chunks of meat and vegetables. The soup smelled great, and, better yet, it warmed Maxie's chapped hands.

"You didn't have to, Archie." Maxie stood a small sip. "But thank you. It's perfect."

"Nah, it's nothing." Archie looked away. "I just didn't want you to starve, man." He cleared his throat. "But anyway, the Winter Ball is this weekend."

Maxie rolled his eyes. "Not this ridiculous subject again!" For the last month, all that the students at RU had been talking about was the Winter Ball, which was held each year. It was the school's most formal dance, a time for the girls to show off their best dresses and the men to prove that they were gentlemen in disguise.

And Maxie had no interest in going.

"I've told you, Archie, I will _not_ be attending the stupid dance. It's a waste of my time."

Archie groaned. "But Maxie,_ I_ want to go to the stupid dance!"

Maxie took a bite of soup. "And you have every right to go without me. We are not, as far as I can tell, connected at the hip."

"_Maxie_! I want you to meet people, man! You gotta socialize! Have a little fun!" Archie looked at him pleadingly.

"No! Look, Archie: I don't LIKE people. So why would I want to spend unnecessary time with them?" Maxie gulped his soup. "Besides, I can't dance for my life."

Archie sighed. "Whatever, man. You'll be missing out." He jumped up and walked down the hill. He threw up his arms dramatically. "Without you there, my tears will create a sea of sadness!"

Maxie cracked a smile, then painfully spoke. "_Fine_. I'll go." He got up and joined him. "You ass."

That night, Maxie was deeply concentrated on writing one of his papers. He was bent over his desk, tongue sticking out as his right hand scribbled out sentences. He heard a squeak as Archie left his bed, and blinked to muffle out the sounds around him.

All of a sudden, a blast of music filled the room. He was surprised to find that it was classical music, more to his taste than the hip-hop or rap riff-raff that Archie normally put on. But either way, he was trying to work.

"Archie. Do you mind?" Maxie looked up, his glasses falling to the tip of his nose. The other boy turned from the stereo, came over to Maxie's desk, and pulled the pen from his hand. "Excuse me, what are you doing?"

Archie chuckled, grabbed Maxie by the arms, and lifted him up to stand in front of him. "You're learning how to dance."

"What?"

Archie took Maxie right hand in his own, his darker fingers easily entwining with Maxie's lighter ones. He put his right hand at the center of Maxie's back. "You said you couldn't dance. So I'm teaching you." He nodded to Maxie's left hand. "Put it on my shoulder."

Maxie did. Archie looked down at him and gave him a small smile. "This is called the Lapras Glide." Maxie nodded his head in recognition. "If you use this at the dance, anyone'll think you're a gentleman. Just follow what I do. You're in the girl's position, but you'll still get the hang of it."

The redhead looked questioningly at the taller man. He seemed so serious about this.

"Okay, Maxie, step back, step forward. Step back, step forward. Step back…now step forward, but move with me as we turn...come a little closer, won't you?" Archie brought Maxie so that their chests were pressed together, Maxie's nose an inch from Archie's mouth.

Archie breath was warm on Maxie's face as they tried again. "Back, forward, back, turn with me…that's it." Their eyes met, ruby mirroring sapphire.

Maxie found it hard to look away as he moved with Archie, the dancing turning them around and around. He felt lulled into a calm, his embarrassment, anxieties, and thoughts drifting away until there was just Archie and himself, floating with the dance.

He snapped back to reality as Archie gently pushed him away. "I think you have the hang of it now, Maxie."

Maxie rubbed his sweating palms on his jeans, grinning mischievously. "You're the last person I would have guessed to be a dancing expert, Arch. How did you learn this stuff?"

Archie cheeks turned a bit pink, a rarity for him. "I dunno, man. I have my ways." He quickly changed the subject. "We're gonna have to get properly dressed for this thing, too." He rubbed his unshaven lip. "I know a place in town where we could rent some stuff. Wanna go tomorrow?"

Maxie, slightly confused by the sudden change in conversation, nodded. "Yeah, sure."

The next evening, to Maxie's wonderment, it seemed that Archie—casual, sloppy, lazy Archie—was not only experienced in formal dancing, but in the refined way of dressing as well.

The two of them traveled to downtown Rustboro and entered an expensive-looking department store. Maxie looked around. Every kind of suit and tuxedo imaginable were presented on racks, and farther down the building were shoes, hats, canes…anything and everything could be worn to a special occasion was here. He held up the sleeve of a random jacket, eyes widening as he read the price tag.

"Archie!" he whispered, grabbing the taller man's shoulder as he waved over a store clerk. "We can't afford this kind of thing!"

Archie ignored him as the clerk, a tall, thin old man who looked more like a butler than a salesperson, came over.

"Good evening gentlemen! How may I help you?"

Archie brought out a note from his pocket and handed it to the man. "This should explain everything."

The clerk squinted at the note, then nodded. "Yes, yes of course! We have precisely what you and your companion are looking for. Right this way, Mr. Aogiri."

As he led them to a corner of the store, Archie leaned over to Maxie's ear. "Don't worry about the price, man. I got it covered."

"But Archie…"

"Just go with it, okay?"

Maxie shut his mouth and followed the clerk, who pointed to a rack of suits of all colors. "These are the selection we have for rental, Mr. Aogiri."

"Wonderful. Thank you." Archie looked through the suits, occasionally pulling one out to examine it.

Maxie picked up a dark jacket from another rack, one he rather liked. "Is this alright, Archie?"

"No, dude." Archie took it from him and put it back. "We only wear black suits in Hoenn to weddings. For this kind of dance, we need to wear something like this." He held up a reddish-brown jacket with tails. "You gotta wear color with a Swellowtail cut." He smiled. "Actually, this would look pretty good on you."

The redhead accepted the jacket and laughed. "I still don't understand how you know all this."

Archie shrugged, smile fading a bit. He pulled out a light blue suit and gestured to the front counter. "We should rent these before it gets too late, right?"

At the checkout, Archie merely needed to hand in another note for the shopkeeper to know who he was, not asking the young man to pay for the suits at all. Maxie found it all to be very odd, but because Archie seemed so reluctant to explain anything, he could rely only on the trust he had for his friend.

Looking below the counter, he found many pairs of little round knobs, many of which had precious stones embedded in them. One set especially caught Maxie's eye. It was made of a black rock which had rings of vibrant colors within it.

"Hey Archie, look it these."

Archie stooped down.

"What are these things?" Maxie pointed to the one he liked.

"They're cufflinks." Archie motioned to his sleeve. "Those are pretty sweet, actually. What kind of rock is it that? Cuz you're the rock man and all that."

"I'm pretty certain that it's rainbow obsidian." He smiled to Archie. "That's my birthstone, you know."

Archie grinned. "I'll remember that. For your next birthday, expect to get a special rock that I've painted rainbow for you. Maybe with a Clefairy sticker or two."

Maxie rolled his eyes.

They began to get ready for the dance early in the afternoon, the next day. Maxie dressed in the bathroom down the hall, then entered the dorm room.

"I think I put it on correctly."

Archie looked up from buttoning his jacket. "Yeah, Maxie, I think you did." He walked over to the shorter man and adjusted Maxie's suit a bit, tugging it here and brushing it off there. Then, he grabbed Maxie's glasses and threw them on the bed.

"Hey! I do need those, you know." Maxie went to retrieve them, but Archie blocked him.

"Not tonight. I swear to Arceus, Maxie, I may have to snap those fucking glasses by the end of the year." He put a finger into the smaller man's chest. "Those glasses are not going to stop the ladies this time. You, my friend, are getting laid tonight."

Maxie blushed. "Look, I can wear contacts if you really want me to. But I'm not going to be putting much effort into getting a girl to sleep with me. Unlike you, having sex is not my first priority, Archie."

"Having sex is _not_ my first priority. _My_ first priority is getting you laid. Now stop with the bullshit, man, and put in your contacts."

Maxie opened his pack of contacts and attempted to put them in, finding his eyes slam shut every time he tried. He smirked at Archie. "Oops. Look at that. I guess I'll have to wear my glasses, won't I?"

Archie slammed into Maxie, smacking his head on the bed. The bigger man grabbed the redhead by the hair and straddled his head between his legs.

"Get the bloody hell offa me!" Maxie screamed, trying to move his face away from his roommate's crotch. Archie scooped up a contact and stretched open Maxie's eye, pushing it in sharply. Then he did the other eye, and got up, smoothing out his trousers.

"There. That was easy, wasn't it?" Archie chuckled.

Maxie rose from the bed, trying to get used to the contacts. "Arceus, Archie. Remind me to never get in the way of your goals." He hobbled over to the mirror to slick back his hair.

After he was finished, Archie turned him around. "Hm…I think you may be missing one last thing." He fished a tiny black box from inside his jacket and put it into Maxie's palm. Maxie opened the box: on a bed of soft velvet were the rainbow obsidian cufflinks.

"Archie…" Maxie tilted the box around, light glimmering on the wild spectrum of colors. He looked up at Archie, closing the box with a snap. "I can't take these." He tried to give the box back to Archie, who refused.

"They're yours now." Archie smiled, his cerulean eyes surprisingly warm. "It's so that you'll have something to remember your first dance by. I'm not taking them back."

Maxie reopened the box and took the cufflinks out, admiring their beauty. "Thank you, Archie."

Archie showed him how to put them on his sleeves, then the darker man stepped back and examined Maxie."You look pretty damn good, man." Maxie's heart hiccupped as Archie put a hand to his face gently, then grabbed his cheek and pulled it playfully. "That is, when you're not wearing a sweater." Maxie glared at him.

They went down to the dance together, the chilly air nipping Maxie's now-revealed ears. The Winter Ball was happening in a large but sturdy tent that had been set up in the athletic fields. Wandering down, then entering the tent, Maxie was astounded at how beautiful they had made it inside.

The sides of the tent were draped with glittering white cloth, bordered with silver and gold ribbon. Glass baubles were hung from the top, almost touching the circle of blue cloth-covered tables, each with glowing candles. In the middle of the tent, and where most of the people were, was a dimly lit dance floor.

Maxie and Archie walked over to the edge of the dance floor, Maxie wanting nothing more than to sit down at one of the tables and forget the idea of dancing completely.

Archie grinned toothily, waving his arm to the other side of the circle, where a few people were sitting at the tables. "Look at those girls, Maxie. They're all waiting for a handsome red-haired Geologist to ask them to dance."

Maxie sighed. "Doubtful."

"Come on, Maxie." Archie pointed to the girl closest to them, who had orange curls swept over her back and a tight black dress. "Ask her."

The redhead looked at the girl, then backed up a few steps. "Nah. You know, I'm thirsty."

Archie put a firm hand on his back. "Go ask her, Maxie." He narrowed his eyes. "If you don't, I'll ask her for you."

Taking a deep breath, Maxie moved his suddenly leaden legs towards the young woman. Halfway there, he turned back to say something to Archie, but found him on the dance floor, already with a girl.

Straightening the tails of his jacket, Maxie approached the orange-haired woman. "Excuse me, miss," he mumbled, "I was wondering if you might like to dance?"

The girl looked him over. "Sure," she said lightly. "Why not?" She stood, her heels making her, to Maxie's shame, as tall as he was.

They went onto the dance floor, Maxie getting into the dance position that Archie had taught him, though at more of a distance. The girl, seeing this, pulled him close to her, Maxie turning a little less than beet colored as he gazed down, noticing the dangerously low cut of her dress.

Maxie fought for words. "Ehm…I uh…You look lovely."

The girl smiled and slowly blinked her chestnut eyes. "Thank you."

He swallowed, smiling slightly. "My name's Maxie."

She grinned. "I know. The name's Shelly. Archie's told me all about you, dear."

Maxie's hint of a smile disappeared. _Of course. He had this all planned out, didn't he?_

He turned his eyes back to hers. "Has he? Good things, I hope."

"Oh, yes." Shelly brought her lips to his ear. "I've heard you're a virgin."

His face erupted. _That bastard! _He looked around for the man, finding him smiling at him from the arms of his dancing partner. Maxie, furious, shot him his middle finger against Shelly's back, Archie giving him an even bigger grin in return.

Shelly kept her mouth at Maxie's ear. "You've got a good friend in Archie, though. He wants that little embarrassing fact to change." She kissed him on the cheek. "Let's go get something to drink."

The young woman held Maxie's hand as they traveled over to a bowl of punch. As he poured Shelly some of the drink, Maxie wasn't sure whether to be angry, grateful, or excited, so he ended up just feeling awkward. He handed the glass to Shelly.

"Thank you." Shelly opened her purse and brought out a small bottle. "I think a bit of alcohol really spices up these parties." She opened the top and poured a bit into her cup and Maxie's.

Maxie looked down at his drink uncomfortably, watching the dark liquid swirl around the red punch. He had never tried alcohol before, after years of watching it turn his father into a monster.

Shelly downed her drink in a single gulp, and motioned for Maxie to do the same. He put it to his lips politely, smelling only fruity sweetness. Shelly raised her eyebrows.

_There's barely anything in here. _He thought. _I've nothing to lose._ Maxie opened his mouth and swallowed the drink.

He had expected alcohol to hurt somehow, to suddenly curdle his blood and turn him into a disgusting, filthy being. But it just burned, softly like a fire in the hearth.

Shelly took his glass and filled it nearly halfway with the alcohol. She returned it to him. "To loosen us up a bit," she explained with sweet smile.

Maxie barely hesitated this time. He finished the glass in a few mouthfuls, enjoying how it seemed to set his veins on fire. Shelly took his hand and they returned to the dance floor. As they danced, Maxie felt himself relax in the heat of his brain. He turned and turned in the dance with Shelly, feeling the world around him slow down.

He heard himself laugh as he grew dizzier, and then realized his head was on Shelly's shoulder. He felt her hold up his head and give him the bottle. "Here. This should help." Her logic making perfect sense to him, Maxie drank hungrily.

His vision started becoming foggy at the edges. He found himself looking down at Shelly's neckline, her breasts bouncing with every step they took. Giggling, Maxie realized that they weren't her breasts at all, but a pair of fluffy white clouds in a perfect blue sky.

He waved as the clouds parted and a group of Jumpluff appeared, calling his name. He flew over to them, feeling happier than ever before as they snuggled into his arms. An especially fat Jumpluff floated down before him. He put out his hand, wanting to squeeze it with all of his strength.

Maxie blinked and the bubble of fantasy popped. He found himself on his bed, with his left hand on Shelly's breast. She was now only wearing her bra and panties, and his jacket and shoes had been thrown off.

She moved his hand and put her arms around his neck. "Stop it, silly! This comes first, remember?" Shelly kissed him on the mouth.

Maxie had always imagined that kissing would be something out of one of the fantasy books he loved: wonderful, magical, soft, perfect. But all he could think of was how bad she tasted, like foul air and lipstick. He tried pushing her away, but the alcohol made him weak and she got on top of him instead.

He was sure he was going to suffocate when she pulled away and undid his bowtie. She began to unbutton his shirt, kissing his neck.

Maxie knew he was supposed to be turned on, but he felt incredibly uncomfortable instead. He pushed her softly. "No, please don't," he croaked. She did just the opposite, taking off his shirt with more vigor.

He felt panic rise up in him as his chest was exposed completely. _I don't want to be naked._ _I don't want her touching me. _His thoughts screamed through him rapidly. As she unzipped his pants, he felt his heart beating so hard it hurt. _I don't want her. I don't want her. _

_I DON'T WANT HER!_

"NO!" He roared, shoving her off of him. Shelly landed on the floor hard, shrieking.

"Are you insane? What the hell is wrong with you!?" She quickly rose and grabbed what clothes were in sight, holding them to block her near nudity. "You're such a freak!"

She ran to the door. "Archie may like you, but there's something seriously wrong with you." She turned. "See ya, asshole!" She slammed the door behind her.

Maxie laid on his bed for what seemed like hours, each minute seeming like an eon as the alcohol slowed down time. Without his shirt, he was shaking with cold, but he was too much in shock to bother covering himself up. He didn't realize he was crying until he felt a tear drop into his mouth, salty and bitter on his tongue.

A forever later, Archie returned to the room, laughing, but without a female visitor. He spotted Maxie on his bed.

"Heya, boy! How was it?" He picked up Maxie's jacket that had been thrown at the foot of his bed. "Look at all this! Ya got crazy with her, didn't ya? I bet you're thanking me now!"

Maxie didn't say anything, his world still a muddy blur.

Archie looked over. "Hey, Max? You okay?"

"I didn't have sex with her," he whispered.

"Huh? I didn't hear you, man."

"I d-didn't have s-sex with her!" He tried to shout it, but his words came out all tied together.

Archie chuckled. "Well of course you did, man! You'll get used to it eventually, with some more experience!"

"I d-didn't sleep with her, Archie." He let out a sob. "I couldn't d-do it."

Hearing that he was crying, Archie went over to Maxie's bed. "Hey, hey. It's okay, man." He saw that Maxie was trembling and tugged the blankets over the paler male. "What happened?"

Maxie sniffled, pushing his head under the covers. "I don't know. I'm a f-failure, that's all." His words were slurred. "She w-was kissing me and undressing me and I was s-supposed to enjoy it like a m-man but…" His voice cracked. "I…I thought it w-was disgusting."

Archie leaned over a got a tissue from Maxie's desk, then pulled back the blankets and wiped his face. Maxie looked up at him with unfocused eyes, not blinking.

Maxie lips quivered, and another tear slid down to his ear. "My f-father was r-right. I'm wo…wo…worthless. I c…can't bring a girl home. And it's b-because I d-don't even l-like them."

Archie wiped the tear away and laid next to Maxie, putting his arms around him through the covers. "You're not a failure for that, Maxie." He pulled Maxie close so that they were spooned together, Maxie's head tucked under Archie's. "You haven't mentioned your dad before, man, and now I can see why. He sounds like a fucking idiot."

Maxie laughed faintly.

Archie squeezed the smaller man. "It's okay to feel the way you do. Hell, sometimes I wonder myself if I'd rather be with a guy." He pushed a loose hair out of Maxie's face. "That…is what you're interested in, isn't it? Men?"

The redhead shrugged, sniffing.

Archie pressed his face into Maxie's hair, Maxie shivering from the sensation of the larger man's unshaven chin on his neck.

"I'm so sorry I set you up with Shelly tonight. I didn't know." His deep voice rumbled soothingly into Maxie's skull. "If you're angry at me, I understand."

"I'm n-not m-mad at you, Archie." Maxie closed his eyes.

Archie smiled. "But don't worry, man. I haven't completed my mission yet. You're going to get laid as soon as possible. What kinds of guys are you into, so I know?"

Maxie was silent. In his drunken state, he felt as though he were asleep. Maybe all of this really was a dream. He'd wake up tomorrow, and nothing would have happened.

Satisfied with this thought, Maxie turned slowly, sliding his fingers through Archie's dark curls.

He pressed his lips against Archie's, feeling the roughness of the man's beard contrast with soft, plump lips.

Maxie felt Archie stiffen but hold still. After a few moments, though, Archie pulled away. He left the bed, squeezing Maxie's shoulder. "Go to sleep."

So he did.

The next morning, Maxie woke up with an incredible headache. He groaned at the sunlight coming through the window and turned to face the wall. He had no memory of what had happened that night before. It was all a blur in his mind.

"Morning."

Maxie turned back around to see Archie grinning at him from the other side of the room. He grumbled and put a hand above his eyes to block some of the brightness. "What on earth happened last night?"

Archie laughed. "You got wasted, man. That's pretty hardcore for a guy like you." He brought Maxie a white foam cup. "Here. Coffee should help with the hangover."

Maxie sipped the liquid, its bitterness already numbing some of the pain. "I remember that Shelly girl giving me something to drink, and that's it." He looked up. "I didn't do anything I'd now regret, did I?"

Archie shook his head. "Not at all. Shelly left the dance after a bit, and I brought you back here."

The redhead sighed, relieved. "Well, that's good." He smiled at Archie. "Thanks for taking care of me."

"No, problem, man."

Soon enough, the semester was over. On the last day of school before winter break, Maxie and Archie met at their hill, Maxie passing the time until the boat to Johto arrived in a few hours, and Archie waiting for his parents to come bring him home. They were lying down on the dead grass, watching the grey sky swirl above them.

Archie sighed. "Well, this is it, isn't it, Maxie?" The dark-haired man grinned at Maxie, leaning on his elbow. "Are ya gonna miss me like crazy?"

Maxie moved his mouth out of the warmth of his coat, a spark in his eyes. "No."

"Well, that's good. I'm not gonna miss you, either." Archie punched his shoulder.

The redhead smacked him back and smiled. "Good."

They both sat up as they heard a voice calling from the bottom of the hill.

"Archie! Archie!"

Maxie looked down and saw a little girl in a white dress running up to them. Her black pigtails, wrapped in yellow ribbon, bounced as she went up the hill.

Archie jumped onto his feet and ran down to her, beaming. "Evaleen!" He caught her in his arms and twirled her around, the girl giggling.

She hugged him as he put her down. "Big brother! I missed you so much!"

Archie pulled one her pigtails affectionately. "I missed you too, Evaleen." He took her hand, bringing her up to Maxie. "This is my friend, Maxie. He's a real nice guy."

Evaleen curtsied, furrowing her brow seriously. "It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Maxie."

He bowed his head with a chuckle. "The pleasure is all mine, miss."

Archie lifted up his sister and sat down, putting her on his lap. Now that the she was closer up, Maxie noticed a thin, plastic tube going up the young girl's nose.

"Are Mama and Papa here, Ev?"

Evaleen shook her head. "They had work. So they sent me in the car to get you." She smiled brightly. "All by myself!"

Archie snorted. "Right, yeah…" He gave her a squeeze. " I'm so glad _you_ came, though."

"Yay! I couldn't wait to see you, big brother!" The girl hopped up from Archie's lap. "I'm going back to the car, okay?"

Her brother grabbed her hand. "Okay. Be careful, Ev."

"I will!" She skipped down the hill and out of sight.

Archie turned back to Maxie. "I guess this means I gotta go."

Maxie gave him a look of amusement. "I didn't know you had a sister, Archie. Around her you're positively…" He faked deep thought. "…_sweet_."

The darker one crossed his arms, smiling. "Yeah, well." His smile faded, and he shrugged, a little sadly. "She's sick, as you could probably tell from the tubes." He looked down, tracing shapes in the grass with his finger. "She's had it all her life."

Maxie put a hand on Archie's knee. "I'm sorry, Archie."

Archie looked up. "No, it's okay." Maxie saw a great force surge through Archie's eyes. "She gives me someone to protect."

He got up. "Anyway, man, I should be leaving." Maxie stood, and Archie gave him a strong hug, pressing his face into the shorter one's neck. His head lifted and he pounded Maxie on the back twice, breaking the embrace. "See ya later, man."

"Goodbye, Archie."

Maxie watched him walk down the hill and to the gate. He felt a rushing wave of melancholy set in. He had felt, that after spending so much time with his roommate, he knew just about everything about Archie, and that they were at the level of trust where barely any secrets were off-limits.

But as he gazed down at the silhouette of the man he called his friend, he realized, with a sickening twist of his stomach, that he really knew nothing about Archie at all.

_To be continued..._


	4. Chapter 4: The Color of Water

**Author's Note: This chapter took a good long while to complete, but it turned out to be almost as long as the first three combined! So hopefully that makes up for it. I'm now in college, so the chapters will probably be posted every month or so. I'll have to see how busy things get. But thank you to everyone who's read this so far, the traffic stats on this story continue to blow my mind! 3**

Winter break passed slowly for Maxie. The air was bitterly cold and damp in Cianwood City, so much so that the only way Maxie wanted to pass his time was on his bed, in a cocoon of blankets. Occasionally, the redhead would feel enough motivation to crawl into the kitchen and lean against the stove, watching his mother cook or go through medicine recipes from her work.

Maxie's father was away in Kanto for business, which was an enormous relief to him, as the loathsome old man would surely have insulted him endlessly for his winter laziness. However, Jenna didn't seem to mind at all that her son was spending his month away from school curled up in the corner of her kitchen.

"I'm just so happy to see you, Maxie," she would say. "It can get a bit lonely around here without you."

"I know, mum."

But as much as he tried to enjoy this time his mother, he only had one person on his mind.

Every object and place he had thought were common and usual he now saw in a new way. Waking up in the morning, he heard the growling of a car, and thought of how deeply Archie's laugh rumbled in his chest. Descending the stairs, and grasping the wooden railing, he envisioned the muscular curves of his roommate's body, how sleek yet powerful it was. And as he gazed, foggy-eyed, at his mother mixing a new potion, the blue liquid reminded him of Archie's eyes, and how, like the sunlight reflected into his mother's vial, the color was ever-changing and impossible to describe.

When Maxie returned to Rustboro University in February, Archie seemed as eager to see him as he was.

"Maxie! Dude!" Archie had been waiting in their dorm room, and jumped up to squeeze Maxie into a Ursaring of a hug.

"H-hey, there," Maxie gasped. Though he was being crushed by the embrace, he felt his heart burning, sending waves of heat all the way to the tips of his fingers and toes. He blushed. "I missed you."

They separated. Archie looked down at him with a half-smile. "You did?" He leaned down and pecked Maxie's temple. "I missed you, too, man".

Maxie turned crimson at Archie's unexpected action, and began unpacking furiously. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Archie sit on his bed. The redhead unzipped a bag and began to pile new books onto his desk.

"That's a ton of books, man. What for?"

Maxie kept his head down. "It's for that entrance exam I have to take next month." Another stack of books formed. "For the trip to Mt. Chimney."

Archie chuckled. "Well, I think you'll probably pass anyway. I don't think you gotta read every textbook ever written!"

Maxie shrugged. "These books look fascinating, anyway."

Archie snorted. "I figured you'd say that."

For the next four weeks, Maxie enveloped himself in advanced Geology, bringing a textbook everywhere he went. He woke himself up an hour early each day to study, read on the hill during lunch, and stayed up late figuring out formulas and theories.

Archie seemed amused by the whole process, watching Maxie study as though he were his favorite television program. He would flip through the textbooks, making as many jokes as he could, or anything else that would distract his studious roommate.

"Hey, Maxie."

Maxie sighed and looked up from a section entitled "Magma and the Ocean: How Two Opposites React". This was the fifth time Archie had called him from his reading tonight. "What it is, Archie?"

Archie eyes sparkled. "I get it now."

"What? What do you get?"

"I get why anyone would wanna study this crap." His smile got bigger, and he showed Maxie the textbook he was looking through. "Look. It says cleavage. Cleavage!" He giggled. "You've been looking at rock porn, you naughty bastard."

Maxie slapped a hand to his forehead. "You're an idiot."

The night before the exam, Maxie was studying as hard as ever. Despite all of the hours he had spent on the material, he was still incredibly nervous. He opened a textbook on the basics of Geology and reviewed examples of each level of hardness.

"Level one: talc, level two: gypsum," he mumbled to himself, "level three: calcite, level four: fluorite, level five: apatite…" At the mention of "apatite", he heard his stomach growl. He had decided to skip dinner tonight.

"…level six: orthoclase, level seven: quartz, level eight: topaz, level nine: corundum, level ten: diamond, level eleven: Archie." Maxie was about to close the book when he did a double-take. "Level eleven…ARCHIE?"

Archie cackled from his bed.

"Archie! ARCHIE!" Maxie started panting wildly. "This is a _textbook_! You wrote in a textbook!" He grabbed a tissue from his bedside, spat in it, and started rubbing the new addition out of the book.

Archie rolled off his bed. "Maxie, whoah, there. You're smearing it."

"No, I'm not!" He rubbed harder. "I have to get this off. Archie, you moron!"

"Max, hey there." Archie gripped Maxie's thin arms. "Calm down. It's fine."

Maxie gave him a crazed look. "No, no, no. It's not fine!" He tried to escape Archie's grasp, but failed.

Archie grabbed Maxie's ponytail and gave it a firm tug. "Look at ya, Maxie. You're insane." He gestured to the books. "This studying is making you fucking crazy. You need to chill out."

Maxie stopped fighting. "But the test is tomorrow!"

"I know that. But you should relax tonight." The darker male released him. "You're gonna do just fine." He smiled. "We've barely had any time to hang out, man! So tonight we're gonna have a little fun."

Maxie wanted to resist, when there was a knock on their door. Archie rose and answered it.

"Hi!...that's what I ordered…Thanks…G'night." He came back in holding a large pizza box. "See? I know how to take care of ya!"

The redhead wasn't about to argue with the monster in his stomach, so he joined Archie at his desk. The taller boy opened the box, revealing a huge, steaming pizza pie. The spicy, savory smell made Maxie's mouth water.

"I ordered something extra special for you." Archie took out a pocket knife and plunged it into the cheesy mass, cutting it in half. He pulled the two sections apart and showed Maxie the inside. The pizza was made up of many colorful levels: the bottom was made of a thick dough, which was covered in a heavy amount of tomato sauce, then topped with pesto. Sprinkled on this was a sickening amount of melted cheese and sausage.

"Are…" Maxie looked at the pizza more closely. "…are those supposed to be the layers of the earth?"

Archie hoisted the knife up triumphantly. "Yeah! Isn't it awesome?"

Maxie shook his head in disbelief. "Yeah. That's brilliant." He grinned. "Thank you."

"Ha! Well, I know how much this exam thing means to ya." Archie pulled his fingers through his hair sheepishly.

They spent the evening gorging themselves on the creation. Before it got too late, Archie forced Maxie to go to bed without any more study time, which, to be honest, Maxie was grateful for.

The next morning's classes seemed to last forever. Maxie's nerves had returned, and he found himself staring at the clock throughout each class, just wanting to get the test over with. At lunch, Maxie got a handful of carrots, figuring that the munching might help him relax. Besides, Archie would be there too, which would make everything better.

But as Maxie went up the hill, he realized the grassy area was empty.

_"He must be late." _Maxie nibbled on a carrot. "_He'll be here soon."_

For half an hour, Maxie sat and waited for Archie. In his nervous state, he replayed all of his moments with Archie in the last day. Nothing seem to stand out as I reason why his friend would be upset with him. This short burst of relief was quickly replaced with a deeper worry. Archie had never missed a lunch with Maxie. Something had to be wrong.

Maxie got up and ran toward their dorm building. He glanced up at the clock tower, seeing that he only had twenty minutes before his exam.

He pushed that thought away and entered the building, racing up the stairs. _I just need to make sure he's okay, and then I'll surely get to the test on time. _Maxie put the key into the lock of his door, and opened it.

He found Archie looking out the window, holding the phone to his ear. "Yes…Yes, I understand…Yes, Papa, I'll be there." He put the phone down, and pressed his face against the window, arms covering his hair. He shoulders shuddered.

Maxie quietly closed the door and stepped nearer to his friend. "Archie?"

Archie snapped his head back, startled. His cheeks were wet. "Maxie! I…"

Maxie came closer and pulled the darker-haired man to a sitting position on his bed. "Archie, what's happened?"

"…It's Evaleen." He wiped his face. "She…" Archie squeezed his eyes shut. Maxie put his arm around his roommate, who leaned against him willingly. "She had been doing so well this year too, but they said that last night, she just…" He exhaled. "…stopped."

He tried to continue speaking, but all that came from his lips was a squeaking that turned into a sob.

Maxie rubbed the larger man's back, and, without realizing it, began to hum softly, like his mother always had when he cried. This seemed to relax Archie, until he suddenly jolted his head to the clock.

"Maxie, don't ya need to go the exam now?"

Maxie jumped up, panic curdling in his stomach. "Arceus, you're right." He went to leave the room, when he turned back to his friend. "Archie, are you going to be okay without me?"

Archie made an attempt to smile. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

The redhead stared at the lie splayed on Archie's face. He glanced at the clock again.

He had spent so much of his time studying for this exam, working like a madman to absorb as much information as he could. Studying Mt. Chimney would be a dream come true, a chance for him to possibly unravel some of the earth's mysterious. He would be able to work with such an experienced man as Yardley, as well as with the top upperclassmen in his major, from whom he could learn so much.

And yet, seeing the look of utter grief and weariness in those deep blue eyes made all of that no longer important.

Maxie returned to the bed. "I'm not going."

Archie's mouth opened. "What?" He stood. "Maxie, you have to go! This is important to you." He clapped a hand to the shorter man's shoulder. "I can manage by myself! Ya know me! You just…"

"Archie," he spoke firmly, "I'm staying with you."

Archie stopped arguing, gratitude swimming in his eyes.

They climbed up and past their hill, stepping through the newly green blades of spring grass. Archie stayed silent for a long time as they walked, looking up into the vibrant ultramarine sky. He had stopped crying, now seeming to emit waves of a quiet anger. Maxie watched him, trying to read his mind.

After a while, Archie spoke. "I don't think that I've been completely fair to ya, Maxie." He continued to gaze into the clouds above. "You've been a better friend than I could have ever hoped for, but I've kept a lot about myself from you."

Maxie shrugged. Though he did want to know more about his friend, perhaps there were reasons why he had hidden so much. "That's fine, Archie. You don't have to explain everything now—or ever—if you don't want to."

The darker one shook his head. "No, I think it's probably the right time." He sighed. "Anyway, talking about my past might help to distract me from right now. Arceus, where should I start?"

They were now down at the edge of the campus, far away from where people usually gathered. Maxie found himself needing to lift his feet up high to avoid tripping on the roots which grew in this forested area. Looking through the shadowed trees, he saw a clearing, which had been hiding a small pond.

"It may surprise ya, Maxie, but I was born into wealthy, high-class family. The Aogiris go way back, ya see, and for centuries, we've been one of the most influential families in Hoenn." He laughed bitterly. "Not for any good reason of course, but because of our money."

The two men went to the shore of the pond. Archie picked up a pebble and gazed at it, rubbing in between his forefinger and thumb.

"I grew up _above_ Lilycove City, right by the sea. I say above because the house is up on the cliffs which overlook the city." Archie rolled his eyes. "My parents always loved showing how great they were compared the "little people" of the world. They raised me to be just like every Aogiri before them: snobbish, self-absorbed, and sickeningly polite. In my childhood...well…"

He turned his head to Maxie. "What kinds of things do you do as a child?"

Maxie eyes flitted up in thought. "Nothing exciting, I suppose. I used to love playing with mud. I'd go out for hours making mud pies, and then pretend to eat them with my imaginary friends. He smiled inwardly, remembering how he believed his special friends were his lost siblings instead of rocks. "Other than that, I learned how to cook and garden with my mum."

"That sounds awesome." Archie grimaced. "As a kid, I had to spend hours with a governess, who taught me all the rules of being a gentleman. Before I was ten, I knew how to dress for all occasions, dance properly, ride a Rapidash in competition, and eat, drink and shit like a gentleman. And when that was all finished, my nanny would put me to bed."

He threw the pebble at the pond, where it plunked, creating soft ripples in the water. "I never wanted any of that." He nodded to Maxie. "I would have killed for a childhood like yours." Archie picked up another pebble. "It didn't end with learning manners. In school, my parents made me work constantly, but I still only managed to ever get average grades. When I got into Rustboro University, my parents were proud—we all were—but I couldn't shake the feeling that I got to come here because of who my family was."

Maxie opened his mouth, then shut it. Even though Maxie wanted to tell him that wasn't the case, the truth was, Archie was probably right. He let the taller man continue.

"Now that I'm here, I'm doin' terribly, even studying what I like. You know what my parents think I'm here for, Maxie?" Archie snorted. "Business!" He threw the second pebble. This time, it skipped a few times on the surface of the pond. "But all I've ever been good at is being social, so I figured radio broadcasting would be the way to go, cause it's just a load of talking, right?"

Archie sat down and looked down into the clear water. "Arceus, I've never told anyone this stuff before." He scooped up tiny rocks into his palm, and released them slowly. "Hell, Maxie, I know that to you I may look like a popular guy with all these friends, but they're all so empty."

Maxie sat next to him, his knee touching Archie's.

"Those people who call themselves my "friends" are only there for the parties, and for all the attention I seem to get." He put a hand to his mouth in thought for a moment. "But I'm pretty sure that without that stuff, they don't…like me very much." His blue eyes turned to Maxie. "Except for you. You've shown me that maybe there _is _something more to me than the gentleman, Archibald, or the party animal, Archie Aogiri. Around you, I can be just plain Archie."

His eyes crinkled as he gave Maxie a brilliant smile. "I think, for the first time, I have a best friend."

Archie left for home the next day, and was gone for the entire week. Maxie continued through his days as usual, going to classes, eating lunch on the hill, and studying in his room. When he entered his current class with Yardley, Geology I, the professor greeted him with "I'm sorry you couldn't make it, my boy," but said nothing to him about the exam after that.

His roommate returned the next Tuesday.

"It was a really nice ceremony. Lots of flowers." Archie said as he unpacked his suitcase. "But she was the prettiest one there." He shook his head, clenching a fist. "Those bastards didn't feel a thing."

Maxie cocked his head. "Who, Archie? Your parents?"

Archie gave a sarcastic smile. "Heh. Yeah, them. Sat there at their own daughter's funeral, and you know what they talked about? Business."

"I'm sure they're suffering too, Arch. Everyone has their own way."

Archie sighed and shrugged. "How 'bout you ask them yourself?" Archie tucked his suitcase underneath his bed and came to sit next to Maxie. "They want you to come visit for a couple weeks this summer."

"Really?" Maxie was slightly shocked. "I didn't know you talked about me!"

Archie gave Maxie a soft punch on the forehead. "Of course I do, Maxie. So will ya come?"

Maxie returned a punch to Archie cheek. "I'd love to."

The last months of school flowed by rapidly, and soon, it was summer break. Maxie packed a bag for the three weeks he would spent at Archie's, and sent the rest of his clothes and books home on the boat to Johto. Back in the freshman dorm room for the last time, Maxie dressed up in his finest clothes, as Archie had insisted, and waited for his roommate.

Archie came in a few minutes later, a scarf wrapped tightly around his mouth.

"Archie, the bloody hell are you wearing?" Maxie giggled. "It's summer. And the polka dots aren't very flattering." He reached up to pull the off the scarf, but Archie jumped back.

"You can't see it, man!" Archie yelped. "The scarf stays on!"

"What are you even talking about, Archie?" Maxie made a few more attempts to take off the scarf, but Archie was too fast. "Fine, I understand."

As Archie relaxed, Maxie dove for his stomach, tickling him. "No! S-stop it, man! I'm fucking serious." The taller man bent over and the scarf fell off, revealing…

"Holy Arceus, Archie! You shaved!" Maxie looked up at Archie with awe.

Archie tried to hide his face in his hands. "I know, man, it's horrible. My face is disgusting."

"Archie, are you kidding me?" Damn, Archie looked good. It was nice to see the man's bare cheeks…for the first time Maxie could see the true shape of his face, round yet detailed with the angles of his jaw and chin. "You look…" Fantastic…Gorgeous…Posh…

_Beautiful._

"…good. Really good. I mean it."

Archie rolled his eyes and tucked his chin down on his chest to hide it. He opened one of Maxie's bags and took out his hair gel, squirting a large swirl of it onto his palm. He began pushing his curls off the one side, calming them down.

"I'm only doing this because otherwise my parents may throw a fit." Archie smoothed his hair more aggressively. "They said they could excuse my "improper appearance" at the funeral, but the next time it happened we'd be discussing the contents of their will." He threw the gel bottle on the bed. "Let's go. The car's probably outside."

Maxie grabbed his bag and followed Archie out of the dorm building, straight to where a dark limousine was parked by the sidewalk. A man in a suit exited from the driver's seat, ran around the car, and opened the door for the boys.

"I thought you said you had a _car_, Archie." Maxie muttered in disbelief, stepping into the vehicle. "This is a limousine! A fucking limousine!" Seeing a car in Cianwood was not the most common occurrence, so to see a limousine was something unreal.

Archie gave Maxie's knee a soft squeeze as the driver returned to the front seat.

"Good to see you again, Mr. Aogiri." The man wheezed, only partially visible through the opaque glass which separated the driver and passengers.

"Hey Terrence. Nice to see you haven't kicked the bucket yet."

"I will not be kicking any of these said buckets until you do, sir." The limo rolled off the campus and down's Rustboro's streets.

Archie grinned, leaning close to Maxie. "This poor guy has had to deal with my shit all my life. But we've always had a bit of an agreement…I can do whatever I want back here and Terrence won't tattle on me."

Terrence cleared his throat. "As long as you refrain from dirtying my limousine with certain…" He coughed. "…coital activities, Archie."

Archie guffawed. "Don't worry, Terrence. If we do, I'll let you join in!"

Maxie turned his blushing face to the window, horrified.

The redhead enjoyed the ride to the Aogiri house, gazing outside the limo to look at the changing landscape. That was his first time seeing more of Hoenn than Rustboro City, and was amazed at how incredibly beautiful the region was.

Soon after leaving Rustoboro City, they drove through a tunnel in a mountain. Inside, the walls of the tunnel shimmered with minerals and colorful stones, wet from the dampness of the cave. After leaving the tunnel, it was as though they had traveled to a new world, ash falling from the sky and piling on the auburn earth like snow. They drove through farmland and rocky mountain slopes, and then through a desert, sand swirling like dancers in love.

Water appeared, they crossed a bridge, and the land changed again, now covered in lush grass and vibrantly green trees, taller than Maxie could see. The window clouded with humidity as they wove through sturdy trunks which, to Maxie's astonishment, supported an entire city, high up the air. The trees became shorter as they continued on, the area beginning, in a way, to resemble Maxie's own homeland.

All the time, while Maxie silently stared out the window, Archie chattered on and on, bored by the drive. But not even his endless stream of lewd comments could distract Maxie from being fascinated with Hoenn, this kaleidoscope of a region.

As Wingull began gliding around the vehicle, Maxie figured they must be close to the ocean. Archie began to quiet down as they entered a city, with many impressive buildings and ships at the coast. Maxie turned to his friend, who was now sitting up a bit straighter. Archie's eyes caught Maxie's and his eyebrows shrugged.

"Well, this is it. Lilycove City." Archie pointed ahead as the limousine went up a through the city. "And that's my place."

Maxie leaned forward to see better and his eyes widened. The Aogiri house was enormous, located dramatically on the near edge of the cliff which hung over the sea. It was a pure white, clearly painted regularly to keep up this clean appearance. The limo stopped at an intricately decorated gate, a moment passed, and then they were let in.

"Archie…" Maxie gasped, eyes burning from the brightly colored flowers in their gardens and the artistry of the statues which stood throughout.

The limo pulled around a curve and stopped in front of the pale wooden doors of the mansion. Maxie heard Archie take a deep breath as two figures appeared from the doorway, dressed in exquisite clothes and with a clear air of affluence about them.

Terrence opened their door and Archie slowly got out, eyes turned down. Maxie followed, trying to stand with as perfect posture as he could and studying the two that stood there.

Archie's father was a tall, stocky man, his white-blonde hair combed over in a wave. A thin moustache graced his upper lip, drawn up in a snobbish smirk. He resembled his son greatly, sharing his bright blue eyes and masculine good looks.

"Welcome home, Archibald." He said, his voice like Archie's but with a higher, colder pitch. He put out his hand to his son, who shook it, bowing his head slightly to his father.

"Hello, Papa."

His mother, raven hair tied up in a tight bun, stepped forward. Archie leaned down and kissed her cheek.

"Hello, Mama."

She smiled, the lines around her thin mouth seeming to stretch more than they usually did. "Hello, Archibald." Her face was long and sharp, wild, dark-blue eyes contrasting with a pale, beak-like nose. There was a strange, icy beauty to her.

Archie turned to Maxie and pushed him forward gently. "Mama, Papa, this is the friend I spoke to you of, Maxwell Matsubusa." He said, Maxie barely able to recognize him with such clear pronunciation and proper grammar.

Maxie spoke quickly and hoped that he sounded polite. "A pleasure to meet you both."

Archie's father nodded and shook his hand. "The pleasure is all ours." He clapped, looking over Maxie. "Terrence, do make sure the bags get in safely." His chilly eyes turned back to the redhead. "The servants have dinner ready now. Please follow me."

The inside of the mansion was even more incredible. Portraits of who must have been the Aogiri ancestors filled the walls along with other masterpieces. A dark cherry wood covered the floors and lined the stairs, carved and waxed to shiny perfection.

They sat at long table, each table setting with many more utensils than Maxie was used to. A big fork, a small fork, a tiny fork…how many forks did they really need?

A crystal candelabra lit the dining room from above as servants in black and white hurried out, carrying platters and goblets. When Maxie thanked one of the servants as she placed a bowl of light green soup at his place, Archie kicked him underneath the table and gave him a look.

Maxie nodded, understanding. It seems politeness was only allowed for the "worthy".

Archie's father took a sip of white wine, peering at his son over the glass. "How was your first year of Business, Archibald?"

Archie picked up his spoon, balancing it on his forefinger. "Excellent, Papa."

"And your grades?"

He dipped the utensil into the soup, slowly filling its crater with the savory liquid. "All A's."

Maxie choked on his water. Thinking fast, he brought a napkin to his mouth, waving his hand to try to divert attention from himself. He couldn't believe Archie was telling such an enormous lie, but he figured it was for a good reason.

Archie's father ignored the interruption. "Very good, Archibald. You will be such an important asset to the welfare of the estate in years to come, as long as you keep this up."

Archie lips turned upward in a polite smile. Maxie noticed his left hand claw against the cloth of his trousers. "Thank you, Papa."

His roommate's mother turned to Maxie, the light from the chandelier sparkling on her jewelry. "And you, Maxwell! Archibald has been telling us that you're studying to be a geologist?"

"Yes, ma'am." The redhead nodded stiffly.

"A fine profession, indeed." She brought a spoon of soup to her lips. "Augustus and I do hope you enjoy your stay with us. Regrettably, many of our rooms are only there for show!"

She tittered, and Archie let out a sarcastic snort. "But don't worry, Archibald said you wouldn't mind sharing a room with him."

Maxie dug his shoe into the floor to keep himself from blushing. "Yes…yes, of course that will be fine."

His scarlet irises turned to his friend, who had a mischievous sparkle in his eye.

"_Dammit, Archie…"_

The Aogiris were nearly silent for the rest of the dinner. They were such stern, uptight people…Maxie's neck was getting sore from moving around so stiffly. He felt a sick, swooping sensation in his stomach when he realized that this was how Archie had been forced to live for almost all of his life.

After the soup, they were served honey-roasted duck with turnips and new potatoes, a cheese course (where Maxie nearly gagged when he heard his favorite one on the plate was _aged Wobbuffet cheese), _and finally, dessert, which was a variety of steamed Berries with a balsamic glaze.

When the meal was finished, Archie excused them both, and Maxie followed his friend up to his bedroom. As they went down a long, twisting hallway, Maxie heard a clicking sound.

Archie turned and fell onto his knees as a Mightyena, groomed with curls in his fur and painted pink nails, trotted to them. When the pokemon saw Archie, its tail began to wag, and it lost all of its proper air as it bounded into Archie's arms.

"Hey, Maggie! How are ya, girl?" Maxie kneeled down next to Archie as his friend scratched behind the Mightyena's ears. Maggie let out a yip and licked Archie face. "Maxie, this is Maggie. She's been my good girl since I was ten."

Maggie barked at Maxie in greeting, who put out his fist for the pokemon to sniff. With his other hand, he pulled out his pokeball and released Crobat, who hopped toward the new pokemon.

As the two began to speak in their own language, Archie put an arm around Maxie, leading him to a door. "Come on, we should let them get to know each other." He twisted the knob, and let Maxie into his bedroom.

Archie's room was a bright blue, the carpet fluffy and with a sea creature pattern. His bed was pushed against a large window which took up most of the wall, giving a wonderful view of the sea.

Maxie looked around, impressed. "This is nice, Archie. But…ehm…" He pointed to the bed. "There's only one bed…I suppose the servants haven't put it another one yet?"

Archie laughed, diving onto his bed, which jiggled wildly. Maxie supposed this must be one those "water beds" he had heard of.

"Nope! We're sharin' this!" He sat up. "I mean, we're friends and all, so I thought you wouldn't mind…"

Maxie shook his head a bit too vigorously. "D-don't be silly! Of course I don't mind!" He felt glee burst through his body, which he tried to push away.

"_We're just sleeping in the same bed. That's all."_

Putting the rest of his unwanted thoughts on mute, he sat down with Archie on the bed. He turned to face the window, looking out at the sunset reflected in the waves of the sea.

"Your parents seem nice, Archie." Though they were rather intimidating, Maxie didn't feel this was much of a lie. "But, I was wondering…well, they seem like they're taking your sister's death…" He struggled for the best way to word it. "…surprisingly well."

Archie sighed, saying nothing for a while.

"They've acted like this the entire time," he began, "even the day she died." Archie pressed his lips together. "They cried a bit, maybe, but after that," He straightened his posture as he mimicked his father's tone. "it was business as usual."

His eyes narrowed. "Those bastards don't feel anything other than what the rules of etiquette tell 'em to."

Archie slid off the bed and went to the door. "I gotta get ya a pillow. I'll be right back."

Maxie took this time to look around his friend's room further. Next to his bed was white, wooden bookshelf, which, on closer inspection, mostly had children's book of all sizes. Maxie crouched in front of it to read some of the titles: _Chatot and_ _Wooden Legs:_ _How to Be a Pirate_…_Kyogre: King of the Sea…Ar, Mateys! Pirate Legend and Lore…_almost all of the books had something to do with pirates or the sea.

On the bottom shelf was a folder, thick with pages messily stuffed into it. Maxie looked up to make sure Archie wasn't coming, and opened it.

The folder was filled completely with drawings, starting out as simple crayon scribbles, then becoming more and more detailed. Maxie smiled as he found one that Archie must have drawn as a self-portrait when he was a child. The stick-figure had a black hat, a hook for a hand, and was on a ship.

"_Wen I gro up,_" it said, childhood spelling making Maxie squint, "I wanna be a pirite."

It seemed that this obsession with pirates never changed. Even as the dates on the drawings became more recent, the subject stayed the same. Sea creatures, pirates, sailors, the ocean…it was never anything else. Maxie's eyes widened as he came to the last pages in the folder which were drawn with careful detail and wild colors…he had never known that Archie was so talented at art.

The final page, drawn within this year, was magnificent. It was a black and white drawing of Kyogre jumping from the sea, fins outstretched to the stars in an umber sky, with a dark-haired boy on his back. Maxie could practically feel the salty mist from the sea hitting his face as he gazed at it. But though the boy on the drawing should have been exhilarated to be on such a creature, his face was solemn.

Maxie jumped when he heard a voice behind him. "Oh, lookin' at that old stuff?" Archie sat and took the book from him. "Just silly childhood dreams in there."

The redhead pointed to the last drawing. "This is beautiful, Archie."

Archie shrugged. "Ya think? I'm not half bad at that kinda thing." He held the drawing up. "Most people would love grow up the way I did, but all I ever wanted to do was escape."

"I used to dream that, one day, I could run away and become a pirate, do all the stuff my parents told me I never should…no Mama, no Papa…it would just be me and sea." He pushed his fingernail into the paper absentmindedly. "I could just sail the seas forever, plundering and doing everything for _me_. No more manners or pretending…"

He put down the paper. "I used to hope, ya know, that someday Kyogre was gonna knock down this mansion and carry me away. And then it'll be okay. But it never happened, of course." He closed the binder and put it back on the shelf. "I still think about it. Some dreams never really leave ya."

Maxie tried to smile. "You could still be sailor!" He said, attempting to be optimistic.

Archie snorted. "Nah, I have to be realistic now. My father has certain expectations of me." He placed his hands in his lap. "He wants me to come and care for this old house when they're gone. I'll order around the servants, watch my equal-class wife and kids live in material perfection, and, on my free days, watch the dust fall."

He got up, placing the pillow on his bed. "I'm still tryin' to figure out how I can avoid it."

Despite sitting in a car for hours not doing much of anything, Maxie was tired from the journey. At bedtime, a thrilling feeling rushed through him as he climbed into bed with his friend, which only got worse when Archie took off his shirt, throwing it across the room.

Maxie almost squealed as the bigger man put his arms around him and, to his shock, leaned over to kiss his cheek. Without a shirt, his chest was warm and the muscles were easily felt through Maxie's thin t-shirt.

"G'night, Maxie." The dark-haired one rumbled, letting go and moving to his side of the bed.

Maxie stayed awake for a while after that, waiting for his heart to stop beating so fast.

The rest of the three weeks passed faster than Maxie would have liked. He and Archie spent the days exploring Lilycove City, many times making a visit to the beach. It would be the same routine: Archie, giggling like a child, would cover Maxie in a pile of hot sand, then, leaving him buried, would run out to the water, splashing around and screaming like a maniac.

Every morning, to Maxie's embarrassment, he would wake up with Archie's arms and legs tightly around him, like he had been used as a human stuffed animal. Most mornings, this position was especially uncomfortable because of a certain something else he could feel digging into him through his pajamas.

Finally, it was time for Maxie to return home. Archie, though in front of his parents, gave him a big hug as he helped him put his bags on the ship that would go around the south of Hoenn to get to Cianwood. His friend returned to the house with his family.

Just as he was ready to board, however, he saw Augustus Aogiri making his way back down the road to the coast. The man raised his hand, signaling that Maxie should wait for him.

When the older man reached him, he had a strange smile on his face, like it took effort for him to look friendly.

"Hello, Maxwell. I'm sorry to stop you before you leave." He adjusted his silver vest, lines around his face deepening as the smile widened. "I had something I wanted to discuss with you." Archie's father put an arm around Maxie, leading him to walk.

"Now…I would like if we could be honest here…" He began, speaking slowly. "You know my son very well, don't you?"

Maxie nodded, not sure where he was heading with this.

"Well, my Archibald has always been one to break the rules. So I had my suspicions when he claimed how well he was doing in school." He turned to face Maxie, eyes making the summer day seem chilly. "The point is, Maxwell, I know that you spend much of your time with my son. I also know that your family is certainly not as…well-off, shall we say, as we are."

He reached into his jacket and pulled out a wide envelope. "If you would keep me…updated on my son, this is only the first of many payments you would receive. In fact…" He put it in Maxie's hands. "…do take it, now. I am sure that an intelligent young man like yourself would never refuse."

Maxie's mind was spinning as he looked at Augustus Aogiri's sly grin. He felt anger boil up inside him. His fingers dug into the envelope as he pushed all manners aside.

"Are you trying to tell me, Mr. Aogiri, that you are paying for me to _spy_ on your son?" He tossed envelope into the sandy gravel at his feet. "How dare you even _consider_ to do that to Archie. How dare you assume that I am such…such a lowlife that I would betray my best friend!"

Augustus flinched as the money was thrown to the ground. Maxie's eyes smoldered with contained rage. "I may not be a rich as you, I am a better man than you'll ever be. And unfortunately for you, better personalities are not for sale."

Archie's father remained stony-faced, seeming unoffended. "You're a feisty one, aren't you? I understand. You care for my son a lot, don't you? How interesting…" He smirked and pulled a card from his pocket. "But in case you ever drop this little _crush _of yours, take this."

Maxie took it from him, face reddening from his comment. It was his business card, with his name and number printed on it clearly. He crumpled it into his pocket.

Archie's father was already making his way back to his mansion, so Maxie boarded the ship, confused by the mixture of feelings bubbling inside him.

The next afternoon, the ship came to Cianwood's shores. Maxie took his bag and went down the dirt road to his house. His mother cried out his name joyfully as he entered the kitchen, dropping his bag as she pulled him close to her.

"Oh, Maxie…you've come back…" She pushed the hair from out of his face. "I feel like it's been forever, honey. Did you have a nice time with your friend?"

"_Mum_, it hasn't been _too _long." He chuckled. "Yes, it was great. It really was." His laugh stopped as he saw that his mother's eyes were shaking slightly. She pulled away swiftly and went to the sink, scrubbing a dish vigorously, pink hair bouncing. "Everything alright?"

She laughed shrilly. "Yes, yes, yes. Of course everything's fine!"

Maxie picked up his bag, the sound of the metal strap clinking on the floor making his mother wince. "If you say so." He continued to watch her, puzzled by how jumpy she seemed.

Just as he was about to leave the room, she stopped him. "Your father wants to see you, Maxie. He told me to send you to his office when you get back."

He frowned. Whatever was making his mother so nervous had to be related to this. "What does he want? You can tell me—"

"No, he needs to see you himself." She turned, smiling emptily. "Nothing is wrong, sweetie!"

"Right." Maxie went upstairs to drop off his bag in his bedroom, then headed outside to his father's office.

"Better to get this over with…" he growled as he came to the darkened glass door. His raised a pale hand to a gray box attached to the wall and entered into it a series of numbers. He heard the lock click and entered.

Walking down a short hallway, his breath caught as the stink of cigarettes filled his nose. Following the scent led him to the center of the building, where his father sat smoking at his desk.

"Maxie…" Harvey Matsubusa sneered at him, yellow teeth bared, "Back from faggot academy, I see?"

Maxie flinched and felt an ooze of the usual loathing settle in his stomach.

"_Welcome home, Maxie…"_ He seated himself on the other side of his father's desk.

The disgusting man took a drag from his cigarette, arm jiggling. He picked up the box, took out another cigarette, and threw it into Maxie's lap.

"Here."

The redhead stared at it, then glared at his father. "No thank you." He placed it on the desk with the tips of his fingers.

"For fuck's sake, boy. I'm trying to bond with you." Harvey leaned forward. "Take the fucking cigarette."

The two had "bonded" this way for years. Since Maxie had been old enough to walk, his father would shove cigarettes into his face until he was forced to try them. It had given the older man such delight to watch his son coughing up smoke.

Maxie blinked as Harvey blew a cloud into his face. He looked down stubbornly.

"It seems you're still a little piece of shit even after all this time, boy. I was hoping you'd grow out of it." He brought the cigarette to his lips again and looked up, rocking back in his chair. "Let me guess…no girlfriend?"

His son shook his head, concentrating on the shape of the cigarette before him on the desk.

"I assumed as much. I've learned not to expect much from you, so it really isn't much of a surprise." He put out the cigarette in a shot glass filled with an amber liquid. "Which is why I've made a decision."

Harvey sat up, his stomach rolling onto the desk. "You see…I'm not sure if I have an heir who is dependable…it seems doubtful at this point that you'll ever find anybody." He scowled. "And I certainly don't want a pansy like you in charge of things."

Maxie gritted his teeth, his growing anger making his hands shake.

"Which is why, Maxie, you're going to get married."

The redhead was so shocked by what his father had said that he was unable to hold back his reaction.

"Excuse me?" He shrieked, voice heightened.

Harvey laughed hard, drops of spit hitting his son. "Mmm…that's right. One of my associates has a daughter your age…Kaderina Apollo is her name…who just so happens to attend your university." He put his head on top of his flabby hands. "The two of you will be married, and then I'll know that the business will at least be in the hands of a dependable family."

Maxie saw black spots starting to appear in the corners of his vision, dizziness taking him over. _"This can't be happening. Oh, Arceus. Anything but this." _To his confusion, his mind flashed to Archie and he felt his heart collapse with pain. He grabbed his pant leg. _"Why am I thinking of him now? This isn't the time..."_

He stared at his father in disbelief. "You're insane." His temper and panic were coming loose. "You're fucking insane." He stood, knuckles white as he gripped the desk. "No…I cannot…I _will not! _Why…why the _fuck_ would I agree to that?"

Maxie turned and tried to get out of there as fast as he could.

"I'll take you out of school, boy."

Maxie stopped mid-stride. He turned, face stretched out in horror. "_What?_"

Harvey stood, smirking. "You heard me, boy. No more school for you." He brought up a hand a waved it around. "And don't think I'd just let you back into my house like nothing happened. You will no longer be welcome here."

Hair falling into his face, Maxie rushed forward and slammed his hands on the desk. "You wouldn't dare! Dad…" He felt his tongue ache as he spit out the word. "…please, you can't do this. I have dreams, dammit. I have a plan for my life!"

Harvey snorted. "A plan? And what would that be? Spending your life as a Geodudeist or whatever the fuck it is?" He made his way around the desk. "I've made it clear to you from the beginning that you'll be a part of this family's business."

Maxie stiffened as his father clamped a hand on his shoulder. "You should be grateful that I'm letting you play this silly game you call college, you insolent brat." Maxie put a foot back as he was shoved, eyes sparking in defiance. "Don't you even _think_ that you can run away from this one." Harvey's yellowed teeth glimmered. "They're coming for dinner tonight. And you _will_ be there."

During the few hours before dinner, Maxie felt as though he were sleepwalking. He laid on his bed, staring so intensely at his ceiling that the white paint began to burn his eyes, yet he didn't care. He was angry, incredibly so, but he knew it was pointless.

He heard soon heard voices in the dining room. He rose, standing away from the door like it could reach out and attack him at any moment. Turning his head Maxie, looked at the boy in the mirror.

Red hair, messily flowing around his face. Mouth, set in a flat line, lips pale as they pressed together. His lids were darkened with defeat, but his eyes burned yet, filled with a choked back rage.

He closed them to collect himself, opened his door, and went downstairs, like an animal going to slaughter.

Entering the dining room, he saw his mother putting down plates of food, while his father and another man, one with a black suit and silver-streaked hair, sat laughing together. The room was misty with cigar smoke, and men were taking turns pouring each other drinks, arms clasped around each other like old friends.

Sitting next to the right of her father was a young woman, wavy blue hair tied back with a coral ribbon. She seemed quietly amused the way the men next to her were acting, plump mouth drawn up under her button of a nose. She was, to Maxie's irritation, very pretty.

Harvey quieted as Maxie entered the room, giving him an approving smirk.

"Maxie," he said in an atypically friendly way, motioning for his son to come closer, "this is Kaderina."

She put out a dainty hand. "Hello, Maxie!" Her voice rang sweetly. "I'm Kaderina, but you can call me Kaddie!"

Maxie refused to smile. He put out his hand, then quickly flipped it back and planted it on his hip before she could shake it. "Hello."

Kaderina's smile wavered slightly as he sat down across from her abruptly. His mother gave him a look as she served them.

His father cleared his throat, turning back to his co-worker. "Ardyk, how is your wife?"

The dark-clothed man smiled, taking a sip of his drink. "Wonderful, Harvey, as always."

"And your son? How old is he now?"

"Twelve! Yes, Archer is doing well. He's becoming more and more interested in my work every day." Ardyk grinned at Maxie, who glared back. "I suppose the same can be said for you, eh Maxie? It must be exciting to know you'll inherit the job of a lifetime!"

He raised his glass to Harvey, who clinked it with his with wide smile. "Team Rocket…long may we reign!"

Maxie's expression was unchanged as they continued with their joyful banter. His appetite long lost, he spent the meal analyzing his fiancée (a term which he could barely even think of without feeling sick).

Though he clearly was uninterested in talking to her, Kaddie seemed determined to have a conversation with him, staying friendly the entire time.

"So, Maxie…" she said warmly, putting down her fork. "What're you majoring in?"

He kept his eyes on Kaddie while aggressively cutting a slice of from his chicken. He slowly cut the piece into smaller bits, then responded. "Geology."

"That's really cool!" She said perkily, purple eyes wide. "I'm majoring in Mythology. I'm into Archeology as well." Her eye shone. "There's just something wonderful about older times. So simple in some ways, yet really advanced in others."

A small smile crept onto Maxie's face. "Really? I'm quite interested in those subjects myself." His grip on his fork loosened. "You're absolutely correct. And the past is so important to us even today. I was reading this book on this civilization in Ancient Hoenn that dedicated itself to the worship of Groudon. I think they called themselves the Groudonie S—"

He stopped to internally scold himself. _"Dammit…I'm not supposed to be bloody enjoying this!" _

Kaddie seemed to ignore the pause in Maxie's sentence, and continued the conversation with ease. Despite wanting to stab himself with his knife every time he replied, Maxie found that he couldn't help but talk to the girl.

After they finished dinner, Kaddie asked to go outside, so they began to walk on the path around Maxie's home. Maxie tried to keep a road's width away from her, but the girl had other ideas.

She moved next to him, so close that their arms touched, and boldly grabbed his hand. Maxie felt a shiver of annoyance run through him, but forced himself, with great effort, to not pull away.

An awkward silence ensued. He felt his hand getting clammy against hers.

"I realize that you don't want to marry me," she began, turquoise hair glowing in the moonlight. "I understand that. It's frightening to think…twenty years old and set for life with a stranger!" She giggled.

"But I have a goal." Kaddie stopped walking and turned, pulling him close, hand suddenly tight. "You _will _love me."

The look in her eyes was like a Seviper ready to strike at its prey. "I don't care what I have to do…what part of you I have to break…" She hissed. "You will learn to love me soon enough. It'll be best for you that way. Because if you don't…" She put her mouth to his ear. "I will make you so you can never think another independent thought ever, ever again."

She let go of his hand, regaining some of the sweetness in her eyes. "But I don't want to do that, Maxie. You're intelligent. I have a feeling you'll fall for me on your own."

Maxie bit his tongue. In a normal situation, he would have made it very clear to this girl that he was not going to be anyone's puppet. This time, however, he had no choice. His stomach twisted up once more to realize that this marriage was going to be the end of his life after all.

When they returned to the house, Kaddie's father was outside of his car, ready to leave. Maxie's father firmly shook Ardyk's hand. "G'night, y' old bastard. See you next Thursday, yes? And say hello to Lydia for me, will you?"

"Of course, Harvey. As always." He smiled at his daughter. "Kaderina! Say your goodbyes, darling!"

Daintily, as though there was no impure part of her, she shook Harvey and Jenna's hands, then returned to Maxie, giving him a hug around the neck.

"Good night, Maxie."

He returned the hug stiffly. "Right."

As the car pulled away, his mother put a hand on his shoulder. "How was it? It looks like you two got along so well!"

Maxie shrugged, frowning as he noticed a pair of purple eyes staring at him from the backseat.

His mother squealed. "I'm so happy, dear! You _do _like her! I can tell. What a lovely girl…"

"_Indeed."_ He laughed to himself sarcastically. "_A lovely, lovely girl."_

He saw Kaddie several more times during the summer. He had to admit that the two of them did get along well. Maxie enjoyed being able to have intelligent discussions with someone who knew almost as much about what he loved as he did. Even though she never showed that disturbing side of herself again, he forced himself to believe that it hadn't just been his imagination. He had to hold onto this, or else he might actually grow to _like_ her.

Soon enough, it was time for his sophomore year to begin. This time, Archie was already in their new room, waiting for him.

The dark-haired male leapt up when Maxie entered, a look of wild excitement in his eyes.

"Maxie!" He crushed the smaller man into a hug. Maxie, to his shame, heard himself sigh with happiness to be with Archie again, feeling him close, smelling his scent…

Archie let go, yet kept an arm around Maxie. "Look, I know we're just seeing each other, but there's something important I need to talk to you about." He sat down with the redhead on his bed. Maxie felt a wave of curiosity run through him as Archie put his head down and took a deep breath.

"Well, um, ya see," Maxie felt his heart start to bang in his chest when Archie's hand trailed down his arm. "I've had the summer to do some thinking, and…well," Maxie's breath caught as Archie intertwined his dark fingers with his pale ones. What was he up to now? "I've come to a conclusion, Maxie." He looked into Maxie's eyes and smiled. "I think I'm in—"

"Maxie! There you are!"

Maxie jerked away from Archie as Kaddie came through the door. She climbed onto the bed and kissed Maxie's cheek, almost falling into his lap. Maxie tried to explain with his eyes to his friend as he saw Archie, though tanned dark from the summer, turn surprisingly pale.

He tried to push Kaddie away, but she only clung on tighter. He laughed awkwardly, gesturing the man next to him. "Kaddie, this is my roommate, Archie."

Kaddie let go of him and flipped her wavy hair back as she stood before Archie. "Ah, Archie! I feel like I know all about you already." She spoke a bit slower as though talking to a child. "He talks about you constantly."

Archie, with a horrified expression, tried to smile but it came out all wrong. "Hehe. Yeah…that's nice. And who're you supposed to be?" He looked her straight in the face, as if to try and intimidate her.

Maxie put his hand on Archie's leg to try to calm him down. "Archie, this is Kaderina. She's my, eh…friend."

Kaddie laughed, returning to Maxie's side. "Don't be silly, love." She pulled her fingers through his hair. "The poor thing gets embarrassed so easily." She smirked at Archie. "I'm his girlfriend."

Archie's mouth opened wide, then shut again. "Oh."

The girl patted Maxie on the shoulder and went to the door. "I have to go. It was wonderful meeting you, Archie." She waved, winking. "See ya later, Maxie."

As the door shut, Archie smacked Maxie on the arm, giving him a strange look.

"What?"

Archie scrunched his eyebrows, mouth open. His hand motioned to the door and back.

"_What_? I'm allowed to have a girlfriend, aren't I?" Maxie felt his stomach sink as he said the words.

Archie faked a laugh. "Yeah. Of course ya are." He stood, brushing off his pants. "I'm just…surprised, that's all."

Maxie spoke carefully, mystified by the way Archie was acting. Wasn't this the same guy who wanted to get him laid as soon as possible?

"I have to say that this didn't happen on purpose." He looked away. "My parents matched us up."

Archie tripped as he paced around the room. "…To get married?"

"Well…yes."

The bigger man stopped. "Wow. Okay…" He went over to his desk and grabbed the first book he could find. "Look, I gotta go study." He dropped the book, and swiftly picked it up. "In the library. Yes, there."

Maxie chuckled. "Archie, what are you talking about?" He stood and put out an arm to stop him. "You don't study. Classes haven't even started yet." He flinched as Archie slapped him away.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever. See ya." Archie walked out without looking back.

The new tension he had between Archie only got worse as the few weeks of school passed. Archie rarely came into their room during the day, as Kaddie was now a daily visitor. After seeming to notice everywhere Maxie went, she even joined them on the hill at lunchtime. Archie spent these meals playing with his food and looking incredibly depressed, much to Maxie's confusion.

When they were finally alone in their dorm, Archie seemed strangely quiet. He was acting nothing like his usual self, now crabby and tired all the time. He never brought home girls anymore, and spent weekends going to sleep early.

It was excruciating for Maxie to see his friend like this, especially because he couldn't shake the feeling that it was completely his fault.

Yet, though he barely talked to him anymore, Archie didn't seem to hate Maxie. At least, that's what Maxie figured was the reason why he kept feeling his roommate's eyes on him whenever he thought the redhead wasn't looking.

One night, a month after all this began, Maxie was awakened by the sound of his name. He opened his eyes and squinted over to his roommate's bed, but hearing a snore, figured it had just been a dream.

"Maxie…" he heard again. He looked over again.

"_He must be talking in his sleep."_ Interested in what Archie might say next, Maxie stayed still and listened.

But he felt a blush crawl onto his cheeks as his friend moaned, loudly. "Maxie..." he repeated, "…_yes._"

Maxie mashed his blanket into his mouth to keep from reacting. _"Holy Arceus…what is he dreaming about? And why is he saying MY name?"_

Archie laughed deeply and rolled over. "Yes…yes…oh Arceus, yes…" Another moan. "Maxie..." He woke up with a snort.

His face was hotter than ever before. He watched as his friend got out of bed and left the room.

Maxie couldn't sleep for the rest of the night.

The next day, Archie's dislike of Kaddie seemed to increase. When she visited Maxie that day, he laid on his bed, mimicking everything she said under his breath. Though Maxie knew Archie was upset, this was beyond rude. When she left, he stood over Archie's bed.

"Archie." Maxie said, irritated. "I know you don't like her, but you can at least _try_ to not be such a prick."

He just laid there, arms crossed. Maxie rolled his eyes and walked back to his side of the room.

"Fine. If you don't want to talk to me, then don't. I can't believe you're being so utterly immature about this." He sat back on his bed.

"Do you really wanna marry her, Maxie?" Archie sat up, facing him. "It's pretty obvious to me you don't like her."

Maxie sighed, anger prickling his insides. _"Why can't he understand that it doesn't matter whether I like her or not?"_ He rubbed his left temple with his thumb. "Archie. If we're really friends, you're going to have to deal with this."

Archie stood, lip twitching. "You know what seems odd to me? You aren't the kind of guy who'd listen to a crap of what your parents tell you to do." He waved out his hand. "You're unique, Maxie. That's what so cool about you."

He began walking around the room, as if trying to fill up as much space as he could. "But now, you're doing just what they say and marrying this chick." He spun to face Maxie again. "What the hell, Maxie?"

Maxie rose, feeling the heat of his temper in his throat. "It's not like I have a choice, Archie." His voice cracked. "My father will pull me out of college if I don't go through with it! Don't you see? I have no choice!"

Archie chuckled, shaking his head. "And how's he gonna to manage that? I'd like to see him try."

"He'll stop paying for it, Archie!" Maxie irritation was starting to pound in his skull. "And, unlike you, I don't have endless piles money laying around for me to play with."

Archie, brushing away that comment, smiled gently at Maxie. "Maxie, it's okay. You know I'd help ya out if that ever happened."

But this only made Maxie angrier. "I don't want your fucking charity, Archie," he spat. Closing his eyes, he tried to contain his anger. "If this is the way things have to be, so be it," he said, his voice shaking slightly, "She's not that bad. I guess that if I have to marry somebody, Kaddie isn't a bad option."

Archie laughed. "Right. You've given up. It suits you well, Maxie."

Seeing the smirk on his friend's face made his temper explode. "This is none of your fucking business!" He narrowed his eyelids, scarlet eyes burning. "Why should I even give a shit about your opinion?" Maxie brushed his hair back, nails digging into his scalp. "You're just jealous because I'm paying attention to someone who isn't _you_. Aren't I right?"

He stomped right under Archie's nose, glaring up. "Well, I'm sorry to have to tell you this, Archibald, but you can't be the center of attention all the time!"

Archie grinned, bringing his hands up. "I'm so glad to know how you really feel about me, Maxie." He punched a finger into Maxie. "But believe it or not, I'm not the self-centered, attention-seeking bastard you'd like me to be." His hand flattened onto his chest. "Maxie, I'm worried about _you_, you fucking idiot."

Maxie pulled away from the contact. Archie looked at him sadly.

"Are you really gonna listen to your parents, marry this girl, and live the rest of your life with her?" He shoved his hands in his pockets and turned, shuffling around the room again. "Your parents don't know you, but I do. You don't want this, and I don't want you to."

"And why not, Archie? I'd live a normal life, and be very happy…"

Archie turned and swiped an arm out, knocking a stack of books from his desk. "No, you wouldn't!" He grabbed Maxie by the shoulders. "Dammit, Maxie! You're gay! You made that fact perfectly clear to me last year when you kissed me!"

Maxie was so shocked by this statement that he fell from Archie's hold to his knees. "Excuse me?"

Archie bent over him. "That's fucking right. You don't remember, do ya? You were drunk as all fuck."

Maxie put his head in his hands, memories hazily coming back. _"No…that was a dream…Oh Arceus, that was only a dream!" _

Archie put his hand on the back of Maxie neck. "But Maxie, it's okay with me, man."

Maxie raised his head and sent a punch into Archie's cheek, eyes on fire. "FUCK YOU!" He shrieked as his roommate fell down hard. "So you've been keeping this from me all these months? You knew, and yet you acted like everything was normal!" A tear rolled down his cheek, which he wiped away fiercely. "Why the fuck didn't you tell me that happened?"

Archie pushed himself up slowly, hand on his face, seemingly shocked that Maxie had hit him. "I…"

"So all this time…hah! Calling yourself my friend." Maxie's breathing increased as he became absorbed by his anger. "Probably laughing behind my back...keeping all this from me until the time was right, so you could ruin _everything_!"

"No, Maxie I—"

"Or maybe…" He shook as he came closer to Archie, who backed up with every step. "You did things you regret. Let me see:" Maxie counted on his fingers, "A smaller guy drunk out of his mind, you with your appetite for sex, and…ah! The man kisses you! You could do anything you bloody wanted with him without him knowing it ever happened."

Archie spoke softly, trying to soothe the redhead down. "Maxie, I would never, ever do that to you."

"And now, just as I might be able to get these disgusting feelings out of me," Maxie clawed his chest. "and settle down and have a chance at being _happy_, you want to sabotage it all!"

"Maxie, that's not what I wanted, man."

"_Yes _it _is_. Kaddie is the only chance I've got."

"Don't be stupid, Maxie." Archie came closer, reaching out to him.

Maxie slapped his hand away. "I'm right, Archie! If you haven't noticed, Kaddie is the only person who has ever been interested in being with me! She appreciates me!"

Archie smiled calmly. "_I_ appreciate you."

Words no longer made sense to Maxie as he spewed them out, head overheating with rage.

"Then why hide all of this? Why try to ruin it all?!"

"Maxie." Archie tried to stop his rant, repeating his name softly.

"You don't care about me!"

"Maxie."

"You never cared about me!"

"_Maxie._"

"How dare you! How fucking dare you!"

"MAXIE!" Archie yelled shoving the smaller man against the wall. "Just shut up, already!"

Archie put his mouth on his.

Maxie felt as though he had been doused with a bucket of water. His anger vanished, being replacing with a wonderful feeling spreading through him from his heart to the tips of his fingers and toes. Just as he began to kiss Archie back, the taller man pulled away.

He cupped Maxie's face in his hands, gazing down at him with the strangest expression on his face. "I didn't tell you because I care about you, stupid." He pressed his nose against Maxie's long one. "I knew if I told you, you'd be ashamed and not wanna see me anymore." His fingers stroked Maxie cheek. "And I was so scared of that."

Maxie's mouth was covered again with another kiss. This time, the redhead kissed back gladly. He shivered as Archie ran his tongue on Maxie's bottom lip, then pulled away.

"I don't want ya to marry that girl because you don't want that…and for the man I love to live that kind of life would kill me."

Maxie felt his heart melt as he looked into Archie's cerulean eyes in disbelief. "You…you love me?"

Archie kissed him deeper this time. Maxie mouth opened as he felt Archie's tongue wander in, letting it tickle the top of his mouth and rub against his teeth. As he took it out, Archie nuzzled his forehead as Maxie's. "Of course I do."

Putting his arms around Archie, Maxie gasped as Archie's lips traveled to his neck. The kisses were gentle and soft…and then the man bit him, hard.

Maxie moaned and his knees buckled, but Archie caught him. His hands were taken by Archie as led him over to his bed, kissing him all the way.

Falling onto the mattress, Archie got on top of him and continued with his neck, sucking at it where his flesh was most sensitive. Maxie grabbed Archie's black curls as the bigger man began grinding himself into Maxie.

Through his cloud of pleasure, Maxie found a way of getting words out. "I'm sorry I said that you're a self-centered bastard, Archie."

The dark-haired man raised his head. "No hard feelings." He gave Maxie a peck on the lips. "I am."

Maxie giggle turned into a moan as Archie squeezed his hands down underneath him to grab his ass, rubbing into him harder. The lighter man pressed his lips together, trying to hold back his moans as Archie's hands wandered to his hips, his fingers crawling up under Maxie's shirt.

"Archie…" he gasped, face hot.

"Hmm?" Archie stopped his kissing and pressed his face against Maxie's, his beard scratchy against Maxie's chin.

Maxie looked down shyly, then met his gaze again. "I want you."

Archie smiled, eyes shining. "I know."

He took off his shirt in one sweeping motion, tossing it behind him. Maxie felt a hunger rise up in him as he looked at Archie's perfectly shaped muscles and broad chest, now unashamed of doing so for the first time.

Maxie flinched when Archie began to pull off his shirt. Archie, noticing Maxie's reaction, stopped.

"Is this okay, Maxie?"

The redhead swallowed, then nodded. Though he would still feel uncomfortable being naked, especially around someone as fit as Archie…it didn't matter now. This was different.

"Yes, I'll be fine." He took it off himself, already feeling cold. "It's you, after all."

Archie covered Maxie's torso with his arms to warm him. At the same time, he inched down Maxie's chest with his lips. Maxie shuddered as Archie flicked his tongue into his bellybutton, then licked the path to where his pants began.

Growling in a way Maxie found completely embarrassing, yet sexual at the same time, Archie grabbed the flap of his jeans with his teeth and unbuttoned them impressively. Maxie breathed in hard as Archie flipped his legs up and pulled off the jeans. Clearly, he had done this before.

Maxie blushed as his pale legs were revealed, as well as the growing bulge in his boxers. Archie pushed down his shorts, kicked them off with one leg, and settled back on top of Maxie. With much less between them now, Maxie could barely stand the friction of Archie's crotch against his.

Archie stuck his tongue deep into his mouth. Maxie moans were muffled as Archie put his hand downwards, where it traced around the band of Maxie's boxers teasingly. Then, before Maxie could resist, the hand slid in.

Maxie panted as Archie touched him. Without thinking, he put his own hand down Archie boxers and began to stroke him, a little surprised at how large the thing in his hand was. He felt a rush of delight as he heard Archie grunt deeply with pleasure.

Seeing Archie so distracted, Maxie made the next move, pulling down his friend's boxers completely. Grinning evilly, he gave Archie's bum a firm whack, the dark-haired man crying out.

Archie pushed Maxie's arms away. "Oh, no you don't." He said, blue eyes mischievous as he pulled off Maxie's boxers and grabbed his legs, pushing them toward Maxie's chest. "I'm the only one who'll be doin' the smacking tonight."

Maxie's heart raced as Archie reached over him to his bedside table. He squirted something into his hand and spread it on his length. He positioned himself before Maxie's upturned legs, leaned over, and gave Maxie a kiss.

"Ya ready?"

Before Maxie could reply, Archie had pushed into him. The redhead let out a yelp and grabbed the sheets as a sharp pain filled him. Archie thrust himself in and out slowly, keeping his eyes on Maxie, who had squeezed his eyes shut. Slowly, the pain dulled, replaced with an increasing ache of pleasure.

"You good?"

Maxie opened his eyes and glanced up, hitting the mattress with a hand. "Faster."

Archie increased speed without hesitation. Maxie reached down to stroke himself but Archie pushed him away. "I want you to come because of me," he said, eyes serious.

Maxie nodded, then brought fist to his mouth as Archie pushed himself in a new direction. Archie, chest beginning to shine with sweat, looked down at him calmly.

"Moan." He pushed in deeper, Maxie biting his fist harder. "I know you want to." His thrusts became more vigorous.

The smaller man stopped caring how he would sound. "Archie…" he cried out. He whimpered, the bed squeaking as Archie plunged into him over and over. He moaned at the top of his lungs as the ache inside him increased.

Grabbing the headboard, he mewled as his hips began to buck with Archie's movements. Archie grabbed his thighs as his thrusts became faster.

Just when Maxie thought the pleasure would kill him, he came. His hand grabbed at his stomach as the orgasm crashed through him, then died down. Archie, after a few more pushes into Maxie, gasped as he finished.

Archie pulled out and collapsed on top of Maxie, who put his legs down. They lay there like that for only a moment, for soon they had their arms wrapped tight around each other, kissing each other sloppily.

After a while, Maxie turned onto his side. It was dark now, the full moon lighting the room majestically. He felt Archie pull up the blanket and put his strong arms around him. His friend—no, now so much more—burrowed his head into Maxie hair, breathing out slowly.

That night, Maxie dreamed of the sea, cradling him in its arms forever.


End file.
